Comedian Ronnie Corbett dies aged 85

[dutchman]

Entertainer Ronnie Corbett, best known for BBC comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies, has died aged 85.



His publicist said: "Ronnie Corbett CBE, one of the nation's best-loved entertainers, passed away this morning, surrounded by his loving family.

"They have asked that their privacy is respected at this very sad time."

Corbett was one of the UK's best-loved comedians and along with Ronnie Barker, their double act was one of the most successful of the 1970s and '80s.

The entertainer had been suffering from ill-health for some time and had been in hospital in 2014 with gall bladder problems.

Following Barker's death in 2005, Corbett continued to be regular fixture on UK TV and is perhaps best-known for his armchair "shaggy dog" sketches.

His most memorable solo projects include the sitcom Sorry! and the game show Small Talk. He most recently starred in the BBC Radio 4 sitcom When the Dog Dies.

Born in Edinburgh on 4 December 1930, Corbett was educated at the James Gillespie School and the Royal High School, Edinburgh.

He did not attend university after leaving school and instead joined the Ministry of Agriculture.

After two years overseeing animal-feed rationing at the ministry in Edinburgh, and National Service with the Royal Air Force, Corbett moved to London where his first roles were playing schoolboys due to his diminutive height of 5'1".

Corbett also started to do summer seasons, intimate revues and running the bar at the Buckstone Club off Haymarket, central London, which is where he first met Barker.

He met his wife, the actress and singer Anne Hart, while working at Danny La Rue's Club in London.

It was here he was spotted by Frost who invited him to join Barker and Monty Python star John Cleese in The Frost Report, one of the most influential TV shows of the 1960s.

"David turned my life around," Corbett said later.

Corbett is survived by his wife, with whom he celebrated his golden wedding anniversary last year, and the couple's two daughters, actresses Emma and Sophie Corbett.

[dutchman]

Ronnie Corbett would have been knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours list



Ronnie Corbett, one of the nation’s best-loved entertainers, was to have been knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, after a discreet campaign led by fellow comedian David Walliams, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Corbett, who died yesterday aged 85, had been approved for a knighthood by the honours committee, after a small group of top entertainers warned mandarins that the comedian was gravely ill, Whitehall sources said.

Walliams, who yesterday described Corbett as his "comedy idol", is said to have been the driving force behind the proposal for the diminutive entertainer to receive the award, after years of protests from fans that he had been repeatedly overlooked.

Corbett, who died in hospital, surrounded by his family, is said to have been unaware that he was to be knighted. He was given a CBE in 2012, and convention dictates that recipients must wait around five years before receiving a higher honour, although the protocol can be overridden, particularly if a person is gravely ill.

It is understood that the honours committee concluded earlier this year that Corbett should receive a knighthood in June, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Lord Fellowes, the Downton Abbey creator, who sits on the arts and media honours committee, refused to discuss the workings of the panel. But he added: "I think he should have been awarded a knighthood."

Corbett, who received an OBE in 1978, always made light of the fact that he had not been knighted, despite becoming one of Britain’s favourite comedians. Asked in 2011 about his chances of becoming a Sir, he said: “I don’t imagine I will get one, to be honest. There are others who are, perhaps, in line before me.”