Ronnie Corbett CBE
Corbett in 2010
Born	Ronald Balfour Corbett (1930-12-04)4 December 1930 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	31 March 2016(2016-03-31) (aged 85) Shirley, London, England
Resting place	Croydon Cemetery,Croydon,London, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, broadcaster, comedian
Years active	1952–2014
Height	5 ft 1 in (155 cm)[1]
Spouse	Anne Hart ​ (m. 1966)​
Children	3
Military career
Service/ branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1950–1953
Rank	Flying Officer
Unit	Film Unit

Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster and comedian. He had a long association withRonnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch showThe Two Ronnies. He achieved prominence inDavid Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programmeThe Frost Report (with Barker) and subsequently starred in sitcoms such asNo – That's Me Over Here!,Now Look Here, andSorry!

Corbett began his acting career after moving fromEdinburgh toLondon; he had early roles in the TV seriesCrackerjack andThe Saint, and appeared in the filmsYou're Only Young Twice,Rockets Galore!,Casino Royale,Some Will, Some Won't, andNo Sex Please, We're British. He first worked with Ronnie Barker in the BBC TV seriesThe Frost Report in 1966, and the two of them were given their own show by the BBC five years later.The Two Ronnies ran as a comedy sketch show from 1971 to 1987, and became Corbett and Barker's most famous work; Corbett became known for his meandering chair monologues.

Corbett was born on 4 December 1930 atthe Simpson Memorial Hospital inEdinburgh, Scotland,^[2] the son of William Balfour Corbett (1898–1974), a master baker, and his London-born wife Annie Elizabeth Corbett (née Main; 1900–1991).^[3] He had a brother about six years younger, Allan, and a sister about ten years younger, Margaret. Corbett's grandfather was the principal organist atSt Andrews Church of Scotland, George Street, Edinburgh in the early 20th century and features in church histories of the time.^[4]

Corbett was educated atJames Gillespie's Boys School and theRoyal High School in the city.^[5] After leaving school, he decided he wanted to be an actor while performing in amateur theatricals at a church youth club.^[6] His first job, however, was with theMinistry of Agriculture.^[5]

Corbett carried outnational service with theRoyal Air Force, where, at the time, standing at 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) tall, he was the shortest commissioned officer in the British Forces.^[7] Having enlisted asaircraftman 2nd class Service No. 2446942, he received acommission into the secretarial branch of the RAF as apilot officer (national service) on 25 May 1950.^[8] He transferred to the R.A.F. Reserve (National Service List) on 28 October 1951, thereby ending his period of active service.^[9] He was promoted toflying officer on 6 September 1952.^[10]

Following national service, Corbett moved to London to start his acting career.^[11] Thanks to his short stature, Corbett was suited to playing roles younger than his years.^[12] References to his height frequently cropped up in his self-deprecating humour. In one of his earliest stage appearances, he was billed as "Ronald Corbett" atCromer inTake it Easy in 1956, withGraham Stark.^[5] He appeared inCrackerjack as a regular in its early days, one episode with the pianistWinifred Atwell. He had a walk-on in an early episode of the 1960s seriesThe Saint (as "Ronald Corbett") and appeared in films includingYou're Only Young Twice (1952),Rockets Galore! (1957),Casino Royale (1967),Some Will, Some Won't (1970) and the film version of thefarceNo Sex Please, We're British (1973).

Corbett starred in the first London production of the musicalThe Boys from Syracuse (as Dromio of Syracuse) in 1963 at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane, alongsideBob Monkhouse.^[13] In 1965 he was in cabaret atWinston's,Danny La Rue'sMayfairnightclub.David Frost saw him and asked him to appear inThe Frost Report. Corbett was in the West End, playing Will Scarlett inLionel Bart's Robin Hood musicalTwang!!. It failed, leaving Corbett free to accept.^[14] It was while working at Danny La Rue's nightclub that Corbett metAnne Hart, whom he was to marry that year. The marriage lasted 49 years, until his death.^[5]

Corbett first worked withRonnie Barker inThe Frost Report (1966–67). The writers and cast were mostlyOxbridge graduates from theFootlights tradition. Corbett said he and Barker were drawn together as twogrammar school or statesecondary school boys, who had not gone to university. The show was a mixture of satirical monologues, sketches and music. Corbett and Barker were beginning to be thought of as a pair.

They appeared withJohn Cleese in one of the most repeated comedy sketches in British television: theClass sketch. Corbett's height provided a key cue for both the visual humour and satirical value of the sketch, as he "looked up" to both Cleese and Barker's characters, and he got thepay-off line: "I get a pain in the back of my neck."^[15]

Continuing under Frost, Corbett starred inNo – That's Me Over Here!, a sitcom written byFrost Report writersBarry Cryer,Graham Chapman andEric Idle (ITV 1967–70). Cryer and Chapman wrote two follow-ups:Now Look Here (BBC 1971–73) andThe Prince of Denmark (BBC 1974). Corbett also appeared inFrost on Sunday (ITV 1968) and hostedThe Corbett Follies (ITV 1969).^[11] Frost was also the promoter of Corbett's 1970 novelty single "It's All Going Up Up Up",^[16] a satire on inflation.

He was a subject of the television programmeThis Is Your Life in April 1970 when he was surprised byEamonn Andrews while appearing on theFrost on Sunday programme.^{[citation needed]}

Corbett'sBBC television comedy show with Ronnie Barker,The Two Ronnies, ran from 1971 to 1987. Barker and Corbett performed sketches and musical numbers. Corbett presented a monologue. Sitting in a large easy chair (emphasising his small size), and usually wearing aLyle & Scott golfing V-neck sweater, he would stretch telling a simple joke over several minutes, often allowing himself to appear to lose his train of thought.^[11]

Corbett's best-known role away fromThe Two Ronnies was as the 40-something Timothy Lumsden, dominated by his mother, in the sitcomSorry! (1981–88).^[17] In 1996, he appeared on the première of the short-lived BBC game showFull Swing, hosted byJimmy Tarbuck.^[11] Corbett played Reggie Sea Lions in the filmFierce Creatures (1997), written by his formerFrost Report colleague John Cleese.^[11]

Corbett hosted the game showSmall Talk and played minor parts occasionally since its end – such as Griselda in a television production ofCinderella in 2000, and reviving his armchair monologue routines for a weekly appearance in a stand-up show hosted byBen Elton. In 2003, he appeared in advertisements for theSky+digital television service alongsideAlice Cooper. The premise was a running gag about their being happy housemates. In December 2004, Corbett appeared on the BBC news quizHave I Got News for You.

In 2005, Corbett teamed up again with Ronnie Barker forThe Two Ronnies Sketchbook, comedy sketches from their original series with newly recorded linking material. Also in March 2005, Corbett appeared with comedianPeter Kay in the music video for the number one single "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" to raise money forComic Relief. Corbett is remembered for accidentally falling on the treadmill that was out of shot in thegreen screen video; however, he found the fall funny when played back, and it was kept in the final version. He performed in theChildren's Party at the Palace as Mr Tibbs, theQueen's butler.

In 2006, Corbett played a hyper-realised version of himself inExtras, caught taking drugs at theBAFTA Awards.^[18] He also starred as himself inLittle Britain Abroad, in whichBubbles DeVere tried successfully to seduce him. He opened the centre inCromer, Norfolk, named afterHenry Blogg.^[19] Corbett was the castaway in theBBC Radio 4 showDesert Island Discs on 29 May 1971 and 21 October 2007. In 2007, he appeared in an episode of Gordon Ramsay'sThe F Word. He featured as aSlitheen in aSarah Jane Adventures episode forRed Nose Day 2009. He had a television interview about his life on 7 November 2009 forPiers Morgan's Life Stories.

In February 2010, Corbett was in theJohn Landis thriller comedyBurke & Hare.^[20] In August 2010 he was a panellist in theBBC 1 comedy showWould I Lie to You?.^[21] In the same month, he was the star of theGood Food HD programmeRonnie Corbett's Supper Club withRob Brydon andSteve Speirs. The show's premise was that the main guest of the programme must choose a meal as if it were their last, and Corbett would cook it for him/her and his other guest, while they chatted about the guest's past and their current/future projects. In December of the same year he starred in a one-off special,The One Ronnie.

From 2010, Corbett starred in theBBC Radio 4 sitcomWhen The Dog Dies.^[22] The series reunited him with Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, the writers ofSorry!^[22] The series returned to BBC Radio Four for another three series.^[23]

Already anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Corbett was promoted toCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2012 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity.^[24][25] In 2002, theQueen Margaret University College in Edinburgh awarded him an honorary degree.^[26]

On 30 May 1966, Corbett marriedAnne Hart, an actress and dancer; they had two daughters, both became actresses. Their first child, a son, had a heart defect and died when he was 6 weeks old atSt Thomas' Hospital, in London.^[4]

Corbett lived inShirley in London from 1970 to 2016.^[27] He also had a Scottish home inGullane,East Lothian and often spoke of wanting to become abeekeeper, but never got around to doing it.

Corbett was a golfer and appeared in celebrity andpro–am events; in 2009, he made a documentary withColin Montgomerie in which they played atGleneagles.^[28] A keen cricket fan, Corbett was also a president of the cricketing charity theLord's Taverners (1982 and 1987).^[29] He supported his localfootball club,Crystal Palace FC, as well as his hometown club,Heart of Midlothian FC.^[30]

In mid-2014, Corbett attended a party at10 Downing Street hosted by Conservative Prime MinisterDavid Cameron.^[31] In August 2014, Corbett was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September'sreferendum on that issue.^[32]

On 31 March 2016, Corbett died at Shirley Oaks Hospital inShirley, London.^[33][6] He had been diagnosed withmotor neurone disease in March 2015.^[34]

John Cleese said that Corbett had "the best timing" he had ever watched.^[35] SirBruce Forsyth said Corbett's death marked "one of the saddest days of my life".^[35]David Walliams, a close friend of Corbett, said that he was his "comedy idol".^[36]

Corbett's funeral service was held on 18 April 2016, at the St John the Evangelist Church near his home in Shirley.^[37] In tribute to one of hisTwo Ronnies comedy sketches,four candles were displayed at the back of the altar. His body was cremated following a private service atCroydon Crematorium.^[38] Mourners included Walliams, SirMichael Parkinson,Rob Brydon andJimmy Tarbuck.Barry Cryer, who worked with and first met Corbett 50 years before, said, "I can't think of him without smiling... I'm here and tipping my hat to him."^[39] A memorial service for Corbett was held inWestminster Abbey on 7 June 2017.^[40]

His widow, Anne, died on 5 November 2023 in Scotland, aged 90.^[41][42]

• Corbett, Ronnie;Nobbs, David (2006).And It's Goodnight From Him .... Michael Joseph, Penguin.ISBN 978-0-7181-4964-2.

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