Ronnie Corbett’s career is indelibly linked to that of his comedy partner Ronnie Barker, who died in 2005.
As half of the Two Ronnies, Corbett was responsible for one of the most famous sketches in British comedy – the Four Candles sketch where a shopkeeper and a customer continually misunderstand each other.
Many of Corbett’s most memorable moments on the Two Ronnies came in his rambling monologues, such as the Parrot Joke.
Corbett also took part in classic sketches such as the Two Ronnies’ Mastermind parody ...
... and the Sweet Shop ...
The Two Ronnies had first performed together in the late 1960s on the Frost Report where, along with John Cleese, they performed another of the most famous sketches in British comedy – the so-called Class Sketch.
They later reworked the piece with Stephen Fry in 2000.
In 2005, Corbett teamed up with Barker for a final swansong as the BBC aired The Two Ronnies Sketchbook.
While the two Ronnies formed an enduring partnership, both also appeared in their own sitcom vehicles, with Barker finding success with Porridge and Open All Hours, and Corbett starring from 1981 to 1988 in Sorry! as librarian Timothy Lumsden, a 41-year-old who still lived at home with his parents.
The show was notable for the catchphrase “Language, Timothy!” repeated by his father Sidney to admonish his son.
Corbett memorably, and to some perhaps shockingly, also featured in Ricky Gervais’s Extras taking drugs in a toilet cubicle at the Baftas.
In 2010’s The One Ronnie, Corbett performed with a number of comedy stars, including this fruity sketch with Harry Enfield.
As well as entertaining audiences for decades, Corbett also had a lasting impact on modern comedians, and regularly popped up in cameos long after having his own regular series, in shows such as Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ Come Fly With Me.
