Every so often I
remember that Ronnie Barker is no longer with us and it makes me sad.
He was such a wonderful
comic actor. In fact, he was the best. He brought truth and warmth to
everything he did. His portrayal of Norman Stanley Fletcher in Porridge is an
acting tour de force, as moving as it was funny. He was always in control and
never missed a beat.
I can still
picture the moment I found out he was dead. I went to my local garage to do
some shopping and as I walked to the door the newspaper rack slowly came into
view, to reveal his face smiling back from all the front pages.
“Oh no” I said to myself.
He was somebody
I’d always hoped to meet. I wanted to tell him how great I thought he was. It wouldn’t
have been the first time he’d heard it, but I would have still have loved to
have had the chance.
I once gave a
flyer for one of mine and Glyn’s Edinburgh Fringe stand-up shows to Ronnie
Corbett (another comedy hero, who is vastly underrated). He took it graciously.
As he glanced at the front I was painfully conscious that half of one of the
most famous double acts of all time was looking at a picture of us: another, unknown
comic duo. Here was someone who truly knew what performing in a partnership
was like. He'd been in one of the best.
It’s a moment,
which, though fleeting, I'll never forget. Oh and the jokes are true, by the
way: he really is that tiny.