Talk:Ronnie Barker

Goodbye
And it's goodbye from me and goodbye to him. RIP Ronnie B. User:Hogtree

Amen to that. What with Porridge, the Two Ronnies and Open All Hours I feel like I grew up with this man.

Lest We Forget (don't know whether it's worth including on the main article) - Oatzy

A sad sad day for British comedy. But I'm sure his sketches will live on for many years to come - who could forget Fork Handles, Jamaican Ginger Cake or "your nuts milord". All together then, one last time... "ggggggrranville, ffffetch your cccloth". Goodbye Ronnie, Rest in Peace.

Date of death
On a more Wikipedic note, we (as usual) have two different death dates for him in the article. I'm going to go with the the only source I found that is specific. DJ Clayworth 16:32, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

OK, so Now I've found a more precise one which gives 3rd as the date, and an exact time. DJ Clayworth 16:36, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

We still have two different dates for death. I don't know which one is correct but can someone fix it please. Cheers. --Astral

According to the BBC the date of death is the 3rd, but details were only released on the 4th.

Amazing
1 Word: Amazing --Jonathandavis 17:07, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Ronnie Corbett
I ended up having to edit Ronnie Corbett's article because someone said he'd died...

It's a real shame to see him go. RIP

Ronnie Baker Day
This morning (5 Oct 05) in Melbourne, Australia a radio announcer said that today was "Ronnie Baker Day". I have no other details. Avalon 20:50, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Who's Ronnie Baker? Jooler 22:38, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

His legacy
I removed this section from the main page as being non NPOV although I could not agree more with the sentiment. The section read:

"His legacy will live on and he will be remembered as one of the best comedians to grace the TV screen. Ronnie's death leaves a massive hole in comedy and in the hearts of people who enjoyed his work. Thank you Ronnie."

Hear hear. Al Clark 20:53, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

What a character. Don't make em like that any more do they :-( --kingboyk 03:41, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Epitaph
His catchphrase ending from The Two Ronnies provided the perfect epitaph: "Goodnight From Him".

Is this meant to imply that's what's actually written on his gravestone, or is it just an observation? --Dtcdthingy 21:44, 30 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Dictionary.reference.com lists the word Epitaph as:


 * n 1: an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there 2: a summary statement of commemoration for a dead person


 * This statement meets the second criteria as it was widely used at the time of his death. It was even used as the title of a BBC documentary paying tribute to him. I'm not aware of what is actually inscribed on his gravestone (assuming he was actually buried) it's something that the media rightfully haven't mentioned. --Peteb16 09:07, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

Humanist
I removed this clause from Personal Life before the public memorial service: (despite being a humanist rather than a Christian). Is there some rule or law concerning who can or cannot have a service in Westminster Abbey? What is implied here? -213.219.151.76 14:40, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Humphmeister's little known second symphony
I would be very pleased if anyone could possibly tell me the title of a Ronnie Barker sketch in which he plays a BBC announcer who is sacked live on TV because it turns out that he is in the wrong concert hall where "Humphmeister's little known second symphony" is NOT performed. Thank you so much. PS: I dare not ask whether it is available somehow... --Bernie 07:14, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Did you know instead of the usual two candles carried during a funeral procession at Westminster Abbey, they carried four candles as a special tribute to Ronnie Barker? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.6.86.235 (talk) 07:18, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Unsourced addition - needs verifying
This section was added by user:212.219.106.152, but is unsourced and really needs a citation if it is to be included:

This was followed up by a role in the film My House in Umbria in 2003], in which he starred with [[Maggie Smith, who, when at the Oxford Playhouse, Barker told Smith, that she would never make it, and should give up. Dame Maggie Smith, is a D.B.E., C.B.E., and has two Academy Awards to her name.

Bob talk 10:40, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Gerald Wiley
Barker's "Gerald Wiley" subterfuge was fairly limited, and Barker was never widely known as Wiley, so I've removed that reference from the opener. The circumstances are discussed well in the body of the article. --Tony Sidaway 00:59, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Quickly became ... long running comedy shows
This sounds like a contradiction in terms; how could The Two Ronnies quickly become a long running show?

Apepper (talk) 16:09, 11 June 2008 (UTC)
 * ✅ Ged UK (talk) 17:24, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Mum - critical reaction
The article states that "Mum" received a positive reaction, although an article in the Guardian strongly implies the opposite. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/oct/05/media.bbc I'm no expert but someone might want to look into this: it could be that both are correct if the play was given bad reviews as a stage play and good reviews as a radio play performed after his death. I've made no change to the article. Rob Burbidge (talk) 15:46, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Bad son
This article should reflect the heartache that Barker felt after his youngest son, Adam, went on the run because he was caught in Operation Ore looking at kiddie porn. 1. He was still on the lamb at the time of his death in 2005. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.4.151 (talk) 15:56, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

Why?
Why is Ronnie Barker listed as British and Ronnie Corbett listed as Scottish that's a bit unfair isn't it England have to share it's comedians under the name of British but the Scotland keeps it's comedians to it's own borders within the union, I'm not flaming but it seems a bit one sided that's all86.148.131.197 (talk) 23:10, 15 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Not really. Corbett self-identifies as Scottish, whereas Barker didn't self-identify as English. Therefore, we stick with British nationality law and describe him as British. Simples!! Rodhull  andemu  23:12, 15 December 2010 (UTC)

Rather a good article
This has developed into rather a good article recently, indeed I suspect if the introduction was expanded a little bit it might be a potential good article candidate. I'm happy to do it myself, but I don't know if anybody else has already planned to do this as the final jigsaw piece, as it were? Bob talk 19:16, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
 * This is one of my long term projects - as in, it will take a long time, and I don't really have all that much. As you say it would probably pass GAN now were the lead done properly. I still, though, have the second half of Corbett's book and then all of the two other biographies to go through before it will be properly complete. If you would be willing to write the lead, and anything else for that matter, your help would be greatly appreciated. Gran2 22:00, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Son
Some editors have recently added information to the 'Personal life' section about how his son has been charged with child pornography offences. While true and well-sourced, I don't think this really belongs in the article. It's not about Ronnie Barker or relevant to his life in any way. Does anyone else agree? Robofish (talk) 13:40, 24 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree, but 1) not including it will lead to people continually adding it back 2) not including creates the impression that the page is being censored 3) Adam Barker doesn't have his own article, therefore this is essentially his page. 4) It's not irelevant to describe his children and if we say Adam is an actor (as Charlotte is already listed as an actress) then people will wonder why the most pertinent piece of information about him (the child porn) isn't included as well. And it's not like Adam Barker is notable on his own, all stories initially refer to him as "Ronnie Barker's son". So I agree on a personal level as the article's primary author that I don't want it included here. But on a practical, encyclopedic level I think it probably should. Gran2 14:14, 24 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure. Adam Barker's latest arrest has occurred seven years after his father's death, so I'm not entirely convinced that it is actually relevant to Ronnie Barker's life.--EchetusXe 22:28, 24 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually, he spent eight years on the run and his father was alive at the time of the original arrest and so it most definitely will have affected his life and so should probably be included.--EchetusXe 22:31, 24 July 2012 (UTC)
 * After actually rereading the article (which you'd think I'd remember) it is already mentioned that Adam missed Ronnie's funeral due to the charges, so that's probably sufficient. Gran2

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Ronnie Barker. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100905144342/http://www.independent.co.uk:80/news/obituaries/ronnie-barker-509590.html to http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ronnie-barker-509590.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100428092429/http://www.independent.co.uk:80/news/uk/this-britain/family-and-friends-lay-ronnie-barker-to-rest-510907.html to http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/family-and-friends-lay-ronnie-barker-to-rest-510907.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 12:44, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

This is (not) your life. Trivia, fact or anecdote?
I have recently become aware that Ronnie Barker was at some point, supposed to be appearing on the British version of the show This is your life with Eamonn Andrews.

Apparently the episode had to be scrapped after Barker became aware of secretive phone calls between his wife and another person whom he believed she was having an affair with.

After finding the name Brian and a London telephone number on a piece of paper, Barker rang it presuming it to be the person whom he suspected his wife of having the "affair" with, only to have the phone answered by the recipient as "Hello, This is your life."

Needless to say the episode was scrapped after Barker identified himself on the phone.

Would this be something you could add to the article (with appropriate sourcing of course), and would you add it as trivia, anecdote or factual?

Thanks, Dane &#124; Geld  20:21, 18 March 2021 (UTC)
 * It's quite an interesting anecdote, I note a slightly less embellished version appears on the page about the programme, cited to his autobiography It's Hello From Him - I guess in the context of him being quite secretive about his personal life, it could be illuminating. Bob talk 22:31, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Active after death?
The infobox lists his years active as 1946-2021. This is truly astounding, since it also has him dying 16 years previously!? Toyokuni3 (talk) 19:49, 11 June 2024 (UTC)