The Two Ronnies – Bandage manufacturer – china foam cervical collar
Origins
Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett met for the first time at the Buckstone Club in The Haymarket, London, England, where Ronnie Corbett was serving drinks between acting jobs. They were invited by David Frost to appear in his new show, The Frost Report, with John Cleese, but the pair’s big break came when they filled-in for a few minutes during a technical hitch at an awards ceremony in 1970. In the audience was Bill Cotton, then Head of Light Entertainment for the BBC, and Sir Paul Fox, at the time Controller of BBC One. Cotton was so impressed by the duo that he turned to Fox and asked “How would you like those two on your network?”. As a result, Barker and Corbett were given their own show by the BBC. The programme quickly became one of the most successful and long running television comedy shows ever on British television, broadcast at the prime-time slot of 8pm on a Saturday night, and averaging around 22 million viewers a show at its peak.
Format
The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became an exclusive pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the Two Ronnies. The show was produced annually between 1971 and 1987. It had many notable writers including Ray Alan, John Cleese, Barry Cryer, Spike Milligan, David Nobbs, David Renwick, John Sullivan, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Ravenscroft. In addition, Barker used the pseudonym Gerald Wiley when writing sketches.
The show featured comic sketches in which Barker and Corbett appeared both together and separately, with various additions giving the programme the feeling of a variety show. The sketches often involved complex word-play, much of it written by Barker, who also liked to parody officialdom and establishment figures, as well as eccentrics. Corbett appeared quieter, more often acting as a foil for Barker, but remained an important part of the “chemistry”. Many of the jokes revolved around his lack of height, with him delivering many of them himself: when Barker said that the next part “does suit Ronnie C. right down to the ground”, Corbett replied “Mind you, that’s not far is it?”. Other jokes could be of a sexual nature of the sort found on seaside postcards: for example:
“Tickle your arse with a feather?” (sotto voce)
“I beg your pardon?” (outraged)
“Particularly nasty weather”
One of the most popular sketches was “Four Candles”, written by Barker, where Barker walks into an old-fashioned general store and asks for “four candles” and, after much trouble finding the articles, Corbett gives him the candles. What Barker wanted, however, was “fork handles – ‘andles for forks”, meaning pitchforks). Another popular sketch was a parody of the quiz show Mastermind with Barker as host Magnus Magnusson and Corbett as a contestant named Charlie Smithers, whose specialist subject was “answering the question before last”.
Both Barker and Corbett had their own solo sections on each show. Barker would have his own heavily wordplay-based sketch, often as the head of a ridiculous-sounding organisation. Likewise, Corbett always had a discoursive solo monologue in each show, when he sat in a chair, facing the camera, attempting to tell a simple joke, but constantly distracting himself into relating other humorous incidents. The joke itself was normally deliberately corny; the humour came from Corbett’s wild tangents, as well as the anticlimax when he finally reached the punchline.
An example of Ronnie Corbett’s sense of humour is this short excerpt from a monologue:
I was lying in bed with my wife last Sunday morning when she called me by a special pet name she has for me, a loving and endearing term that only she uses. ‘Hey Shorty’ she said, ‘would you like to hear the patter of little feet?’
Somewhat taken aback, I replied ‘Yes, I would.’ She said ‘Good. Run down to the kitchen and get me a glass of water.’
It became a tradition of the shows to have a continuing “serial” story which progressed through the eight episodes of a series. These were often fairly bawdy tales with special guest stars. The very first serial was Hampton Wick (1971) written by Barker, which began as a pastiche of costume dramas about a governess called Henrietta Beckett, played by Madeline Smith, with the Ronnies playing a wide variety of other characters, but had a neat twist ending that turned this notion on its head.
Piggy Malone and Charley Farley.
There were four modern-day mystery serials featuring the comic detective characters “Piggy Malone” (Barker) and “Charley Farley” (Corbett). Done to Death (1972), a mystery about a murdered family, featuring Sue Lloyd; Death Can Be Fatal (1975), in which the duo are sent in search of the formula for the Clumsy Drug, alongside Cyd Hayman; Stop! You’re Killing Me (1977-8), in which Devon’s yokels are murdered and dumped in London, with support from Kate O’Mara; and Band of Slaves (1981-2), where an all-girls orchestra is sold into white slavery by a demented Chinaman.
One of the most famous serials was The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976), written by Spike Milligan and Ronnie Barker but credited as “Spike Milligan and a Gentleman”. Set in Victorian times, it is a Jack the Ripper parody in which a mysterious figure goes around blowing raspberries at members of the upper classes. The raspberries were done by Barker’s friend David Jason. This entire section of sketches was included in Spike’s book “I Told You I Was Ill”.
Another memorable serial was The Worm That Turned (1980); Diana Dors guest-starred in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction in which women rule England while men are housekeepers and wear women’s clothes and law and order is managed by female guards in boots and hot pants.
The Two Ronnies also starred in two spin-off silent films labelled The Two Ronnies Present…, By the Sea and The Picnic, written by Barker, mainly silent comedies featuring a squabbling upper-class family with a 1920s feel about them.
Another regular feature of the shows was an elaborate musical segment in which Barker and Corbett often in drag and company would sing a medley of songs in character, in barbershop, music hall, Gilbert and Sullivan or other styles, with the original words altered to suit whatever comic situation they were portraying. There would also be a cabaret musician or group appearing as a special guest, including Dana, Elkie Brooks, Manhattan Transfer, Pan’s People, Michel Legrand, Barbara Dickson, Tina Charles, New World, Elaine Paige and Phil Collins, the last of whom also took part in a few sketches.
The Two Ronnies at the newsdesk
The show always opened and closed at the newsdesk, which featured the Ronnies as newsreaders, reading spoof news items. This gave rise to the famous catchphrase at the end of each show:
Corbett: So it’s “Goodnight” from me.
Barker: And it’s “Goodnight” from him.
Both: Goodnight!
Following the departure of Morecambe and Wise from the BBC in 1978, The Two Ronnies became the BBC’s flagship comedy programme, regularly gaining the top viewing figures in the critical Christmas Day audience battle. A memorable Radio Times cover for the double Christmas issue in 1973 had both double acts appearing side by side.
The pair made no new shows after Christmas 1987, following Barker’s decision to retire from show business. This was unknown to the audience and even the production team the only person Barker told was Corbett, and they and their wives all went for a meal straight after the recording, keeping it a very low-key affair. Corbett tried to continue on his own, but The Ronnie Corbett Show only lasted one series in 1987.
Other projects
In 1979 a series was made for the Nine Network in Australia under the title of The Two Ronnies in Australia. It was followed by another series in 1986.
In 1986, 1987 and 1988 multi-part compilation series titled Twenty Years Of The Two Ronnies were aired, which featured the pair picking some of their classic sketches.
Barker and Corbett also made a number of adverts that appeared on ITV, most notably for British Leyland (Austin/Morris) in 1979 where Corbett played a villan on the run and, “needing some wheels”, gets salesman Barker to show him round the Austin Morris range. They did a second in 1981, for the “BL Double Bonus” campaign, which featured Corbett playing a tax inspector inquiring as to why Barker is running 4 cars. They also did a series of ads for Hertz car rentals in the 1980s.
Influence
The show was parodied by the Not The Nine O’Clock News team in 1981, as “The Three Ronnies”, including footage Ronald Reagan, at the time the President of the United States. There was also another sketch called “The Two Ninnies” which featured a direct parody of several of the pair’s musical routines, using exaggerated innuendo, e.g., “Oh vagina, oh vagina, over Chinatown!” This sketch in particular is thought to have caused Barker some annoyance, though Peter Brewis, who composed much of the music in Not the Nine O’Clock News, had briefly worked on The Two Ronnies.
Revivals
The show re-surfaced in 1999 for a Two Ronnies Night. Ronnie Corbett also presented a Two Ronnies at the Movies special that same year. In 2000 A Tribute To The Two Ronnies, was hosted by Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett themselves.
In 2004 Barker announced that he and Corbett would return to make new episodes, entitled The Two Ronnies Sketchbook. This involved the two sitting at the newsdesk, introducing their classic sketches. A Christmas special was recorded in July 2005, due to Barker’s failing health.
Whilst the Sketchbook series was transmitted, The Two Ronnies were also the subject of an episode of the BBC documentary Comedy Connections. Ronnie Corbett, producers James Gilbert, Terry Hughes (film director) and Michael Hurl, and writers Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent, David Renwick and Barry Cryer all spoke about the making of the series. Ronnie Barker did not appear, but excerpts from an interview he gave in 1997 were included.
On Ronnie Barker’s death on 3 October 2005, Ronnie Corbett is reported to have said that throughout their many years of association there was never an angry word between them.
In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 6 in a poll of TV’s Greatest Stars.
As of 2008, full shows of The Two Ronnies are repeated on ITV3 and G.O.L.D., and on the 24, 25 and 26 December 2006 ITV3 channel devoted the whole three days to the show, interspersed with Ronnie Corbett’s reminiscences of the show and Ronnie Barker. 28 May 2007 included many more episodes new to ITV3 as well a showing of The Picnic and By the Sea.
DVD releases
Series One and Two including a definitive collection of their Christmas specials, with segments from Christmas Night with the Stars, the Old-Fashioned Christmas Mystery and three other Christmas shows were released on 30 April, 2 July and 29 October 2007. Series Three and Four were released on 17 March and 19 May 2008. Series Five was released on 15 June 2009, Series Six was released on 22 February 2010. six complete series and all Christmas specials have been released so far. The remaining series of the show are expected to be released before 24 December 2016[citation needed].
The Two Ronnies (BBC) were released in Region 4 (Australia) on the following dates – The Best of The Two Ronnies Volume 1, 4 March 2002. The Best of The Two Ronnies Volume 2, 17 March 2003. The Two Ronnies Series 1, 4 July 2007. The Two Ronnies Series 2 (two discs), 8 May 2008. The Two Ronnies Series 3, 5 March 2009. The Two Ronnies Series 4 (two discs), 4 August 2009, Series 5 And 6 are expected to be released in 2010.
The Two Ronnies in Australia was released on 28 June 2008 with an all region coding.
DVD Title
Discs
Year
No. of Ep.
DVD release
Region 2
Region 4
Complete Series 1
2
1971
8
30 April 2007
4 July 2007
Complete Series 2
2
1972
8
2 July 2007
8 May 2008
Complete Series 3
2
1973 – 1974
8
17 March 2008
5 March 2009
Complete Series 4
2
1975
8
19 May 2008
6 August 2009
Complete Series 5
2
1976
8
15 June 2009
4 March 2010
Complete Series 6
2
1977 – 1978
8
22 February 2010
2010
The Christmas Specials
2
1973 – 1987
4
29 October 2007
7 November 2008
Two Ronnies In Australia
2
1986
6
28 June 2008
The Best of…Volume 1
1
1971 – 1984
1 Compilation
1 October 2001
4 March 2002
The Best of…Volume 2
1
1971 – 1985
1 Compilation
29 September 2003
17 March 2003
Notes
^ “The True Ronnies” – The Weekend Australian Magazine – 11 -12 November 2006
^ These lines were recently used in the second series of the BBC production of Robin Hood.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)
External links
The Two Ronnies at BBC Online Comedy Guide
The Two Ronnies at the Internet Movie Database
The Two Ronnies at the British Film Institute
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