Ronnie Corbett
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Ronald Balfour Corbett, OBE (born 4 December 1930 in Edinburgh, commonly credited as Ronnie Corbett) is a British comedian and actor, best known as one of The Two Ronnies.
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[edit] Early Life and Career
Corbett decided he wanted to be an actor while performing in amateur theatricals at a church youth club. However, his first job was with the Ministry of Agriculture and then he did his National Service with the RAF after which he moved to London to pursue his ambition. Starting in 1952 his first foray into professional showbiz was playing schoolboy roles in films. At 5 ft 1 in (1.53 m) tall, Corbett was ideally suited to playing younger than his years. References to his height - or lack thereof - frequently crop up in his self-deprecating humour.
He has worked in film and television since the 1950s, appearing in Crackerjack as a regular in its early days during the 1950s. He had a walk-on role in an early episode of the 1960s series The Saint (credited as 'Ronald Corbett') and made appearances in several films, including Rockets Galore, Casino Royale, Some Will, Some Won't and the film version of the farce No Sex Please, We're British.
In the 1960s he was appearing in cabaret at Winston's, Danny La Rue's Mayfair nightclub. This was very much the 'in' place and was patronised by the showbusiness glitterati. It was here that Corbett was first seen by David Frost who asked him to appear in The Frost Report. Ironically, Corbett's appearance was made possible by a career low point. In 1965 he was in the West End playing Will Scarlett in Lionel Bart's Robin Hood musical Twang!, which was expected to be a big hit. As it turned out it was a dismal failure but its closure meant that Corbett was free to do The Frost Report.
Corbett married the actress and dancer Anne Hart in 1965 with whom he has two children, the actresses Emma Corbett and Sophie Corbett.
[edit] Rise to Fame
It was in The Frost Report (1966-1967) that Corbett first worked with Ronnie Barker. The writers and cast were mostly Oxbridge graduates who had come out of the Footlights tradition. Corbett has said that he and Barker were naturally drawn together as two Grammar school boys who had not gone to university in among a crowd of privately-educated graduates. The show was a mixture of satirical monologues, sketches and music and each show had a theme. It seems that even at this time - considerably before the idea of their own show was mooted - Corbett and Barker were beginning to be thought of as a pair. Corbett and Barker appeared with John Cleese in one of the most famous comedy sketches in British television history, it is certainly often repeated. Cleese, Barker and Corbett are standing in line abreast facing the camera with Cleese (tall, leftmost) representing the Upper Class, Barker (average height, in the middle) representing the Middle Class and Corbett (short, rightmost) representing the working class. Each of them relates what they think of the other classes and what they get out of the class system while turning their head to look at the object of their remark, looking up at their so-called superiors and down at their inferiors. Corbett gets the pay-off line: "I get a pain in the back of my neck."
Continuing under the auspices of Frost, Corbett next starred in No - that's me over here, a sitcom written by fellow Frost Report refugees Barry Cryer, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle (ITV 1967-1970). Cryer and Chapman then wrote two follow-up series: Now Look Here (BBC 1971-1973) and The Prince of Denmark (BBC 1974). Corbett also appeared in Frost on Sunday (ITV 1968) and hosted The Corbett Follies (ITV 1969).
[edit] The Two Ronnies
His BBC television comedy sketch show with Ronnie Barker, in The Two Ronnies, lasted from 1971 to 1987. This show saw both Barker and Corbett performing various comedy sketches and musical numbers. Additionally, in the middle of the show, Corbett would present a lengthy monologue. Sitting in a large leather chair (emphasising his small size), and usually wearing a golfing V-neck sweater, he would tell a simple joke over the space of several minutes, often deliberately allowing himself to lose his train of thought. Although seemingly improvised, these were tightly scripted affairs.
Corbett is perhaps best known as the comedian's straight-man and achieved a unique cult status in this way – a relatively small individual who loves to play golf, he often became the butt of other comedians' jokes, even when he was not present and even if there was no obvious connection between him and the comedian in question. However, his own skills as an outright comedian were never doubted and his peers thought extremely highly of him.
[edit] Recent Life
His best known role away from The Two Ronnies is as Timothy Lumsden in the sitcom Sorry. He also hosted the game show Small Talk and has continued to play minor parts occasionally since the end of this – notably playing Griselda in a television production of Cinderella in 2000, and reviving his armchair monologue routines for a weekly guest appearance in a stand-up show hosted by Ben Elton, a lifelong fan.
In 2005 Corbett teamed up again with Ronnie Barker for a series of shows called The Two Ronnies Sketchbook, comprising selections of classic comedy sketches from their original series with original linking material. Also in 2005 Corbett appeared with comedian Peter Kay, another huge fan, in the spoof music video for the number 1 single Is This the Way to Amarillo?, mimed to the song by Tony Christie. Corbett is well remembered for falling over in the video.
He recently performed in Children's Party at the Palace as Mr. Tibbs, the Queen's butler.
In 2006, he played a hyper-realised version of himself in Extras, caught taking drugs at the BAFTA Awards.
He currently lives in Shirley, Croydon, where he has resided for many years.
[edit] Trivia
- In 1974 he recorded and released a single, Fanny, and performed it on Top of the Pops in November that year, but it failed to chart.
- Plays golf, and is friends with Alice Cooper.
- Is a fan of Little Britain.
- Attended the 2005 Queen Victoria School Grand Day parade, to award the prizes.
