Ronnie Corbett got the gong he deserves, insists CHRISTOPHER STEVENSRonnie Corbett pictured as a child during his youth in pre- war Edinburgh. When movie comedian Norman Wisdom received his knighthood at Buckingham Palace in 2. He made the Queen laugh. Stepping back after he had knelt to be dubbed Sir Norman with the ceremonial sword, the little clown who was the Royal Family’s favourite comic performed a slapstick stumble. Her Majesty, usually so solemn on these occasions, couldn’t help cracking a smile. Knighthoods for entertainers are very rare. Serious actors, such as Sir Patrick Stewart or Sir Michael Gambon, can expect them. Pop megastars are awarded them routinely — Sir Cliff, Sir Paul, Sir Mick and even (though it’s an honorary title, since they’re Irish) Sir Bono and Sir Bob. But comedians are not often knighted. Such recognition might seem a natural tribute to nationally adored personalities such as Eric Morecambe, Frankie Howerd or Tommy Cooper, but all of them died without the . Comedy Greats Comedy Tv The 2 Ronnies Trenches 1915 Happiest Comedians Memory 4U Easily Amused British Television Classic. Two Ronnies Night: TV Movie: 1999: The Comedy. TV Movie: 2000: Funny Turns: Richard Briers: A Good Life: 2000: A Tribute to the Two Ronnies: TV Movie: 2000: Night. The Two Ronnies - The Attractive. Explore Happiest Comedians, Inspiration Humour and more! The Two Ronnies - 2000 Today More. The Two Ronnies: Wikis. In 2000 A Tribute To The Two Ronnies. Such recognition might seem a natural tribute to nationally. Find out one of the richest celebrity Ronnie Corbett Net Worth. Christmas Night with the Two Ronnies: 1987: TV Movie. A Tribute to the Two Ronnies: 2000: TV. In 2000 A Tribute To The Two Ronnies was hosted by Ronnie. The Two Ronnies at the Internet Movie Database; The Two Ronnies at. Ronnie Barker Net Worth, Biography. TV Movie: The Two Ronnies in Australia: 1986. A Tribute to the Two Ronnies: 2000: TV Movie: Himself: Funny Turns. With typical modesty — Ronnie wasn’t asking for a . They ruled Saturday night TV for more than a decade with their brilliant wordplay, rapid- fire one- liners, rambling monologues and family- friendly sketches. And there can’t be any sane comedy fan in Britain who would disagree. A system that has awarded knighthoods to monsters such as Jimmy Savile and shysters like banker Fred . He learned the hard way that, as a decidedly small man, he was apt to be overlooked in more ways than one. Just after World War II, he went to a dance organised by his Scout troupe in his native Edinburgh. This was the Forties, and Ronnie was already acutely self- conscious about his height. Aged 1. 5, he was the size of a child half his age, despite the stretching exercises his doctor prescribed. Scroll down for video Corbett (left) and Ronnie Barker pictured together in the TV programme The Two Ronnies. Plucking up all his courage, he asked a girl to dance. She gazed down at him and, perhaps trying to be kind, said: . To his relief, the men showed respect to his uniform and rank, and he did his best to command authority, as if height was irrelevant. Ronnie was no Norman Wisdom, looking for slapstick laughs. That’s a rule he has followed throughout his comedy career. You’ll never see him getting hit in the face with a custard pie or running around with his trousers on fire. He has a natural dignity and a sense of self- respect that underpins his genial jokes. Corbett, pictured posing for a photo in 1. Moor Park Golf Club in Hertfordshire. But inevitably his stature has been crucial to many of his best gags. One of his earliest and best- known sketches featured him with burly Ronnie Barker and the towering John Cleese, who is 6ft 5in. They played a lanky toff (Cleese), a middle- class bloke (Barker) and a working man (Corbett) on The Frost Report in 1. I mean, could you see anyone employing me as a bank clerk or consulting me about an insurance policy? Whatever I did to seem dignified, they’d think I was the teaboy.’It was a disadvantage he would turn to comedy gold- dust in The Two Ronnies, whenever he played a pompous bank manager or a pigeon- breasted shop steward. The more he puffed himself up, the funnier he became. In fact, he had tried an office job, joining the Animal Feeding Stuffs department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries as a school- leaver in 1. But he had always wanted to perform on stage, and he got his first big break doing stand- up on the children’s TV show Crackerjack! He worked for a time in Winston’s nightclub, Mayfair, with drag artiste Danny La Rue. He was still getting TV work, though much of it was transmitted live and not recorded for posterity. After eight years of cabaret, Ronnie was spotted by David Frost, who recruited him for his satirical sketch show. This was the first time he had worked with Ronnie Barker, though they had met briefly before when Corbett was working as a West End barman, trying to make ends meet. Barker used to joke that his future comedy partner had to stand on a pair of boxes just to reach the spirits dispensers. One was marked Agnes, the other Champ: it was a long time before he realised they were two halves of a crate labelled . In the audience were two BBC bigwigs. The next morning, Barker and Corbett were given their own show. The Two Ronnies launched in 1. Ronnie discovered that fame brought an unexpected bonus. Instead of being shocked at his tiny stature, people were surprised that he wasn’t smaller. One of the favourite and unchanging elements of The Two Ronnies was his monologue, delivered from a king- size tubular steel armchair — a classic bit of Seventies comedy, performed from the comfort of a Seventies design icon. And he played on his height in his best solo work, too. The BBC1 sitcom Sorry! It revolved around his desperate attempts to get a girlfriend and escape the influence of his ferocious mother. Ronnie Corbett pictured left in 2. TV show Comedy Britain, and right, during an appearance on the Graham Norton Show in April. The comedy was gentle and inoffensive. If Corbett’s character so much as huffed, his father would chide him: . If he’d been a hulking great bloke, it wouldn’t have seemed so plausible. The Two Ronnies ended with a Christmas Special in 1. Barker announced he was retiring to run an antiques shop. Many expected this to be the end of Corbett’s career, too, though he was only 5. After all, Ernie Wise had done little but panto after the death of his partner Eric Morecambe, three years earlier. But Ronnie wouldn’t be kept down. He appeared with Cleese in the film Fierce Creatures, the follow- up to A Fish Called Wanda, and in 1. The Ben Elton Show. Surrounded by alternative comedians, Ronnie proved he could still get the biggest laughs with his routines: . This is the sort of joke that will still be loved and enjoyed even when it’s a hundred years old . Since then, he’s been taking it easier. Next year, he and his wife, Anne, celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. But Ronnie firmly denies any rumours of retirement. Surely a career of such longevity, which has entertained countless millions, is worthy of a knighthood at the very least. It ought to give the Queen another chuckle, too. The script writes itself: . Oh, you’re already standing up!’.
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