British comedian known for Two Ronnies team
LONDON A diminutive, verbally dexterous entertainer with exquisite comic timing, Ronnie Corbett has been hailed as a giant of comedy by fans and fellow stars mourning his death at the age of 85.
Publicist Paul Sullivan said Corbett, half of much-loved duo The Two Ronnies, died Thursday “surrounded by his loving family.” The cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
Thanks to reruns, the television comedy show starring Corbett and the late Ronnie Barker has been a staple on British TV for more than 40 years. Generations of fans can recite swaths of Two Ronnies sketches and quote the pair’s signature signoff: “Now it’s goodnight from me.” “And it’s goodnight from him.”
Monty Python comedian Michael Palin said Corbett had “a great sense of silliness.”
“He could do the serious stuff as well, but there was a lovely sort of mischief, his eyes twinkled,” Palin told the BBC. “He was absolutely delightful to play with and against, and do material with and, also, just a good friend too.”
Fellow Python John Cleese, who worked with Corbett in the 1960s, tweeted that Corbett had “the best timing I’ve ever watched. He was a great, kind mentor and a wonderfully witty companion.”
Born in Edinburgh on Dec. 4, 1930, Corbett did military service in the Royal Air Force — he claimed to have been the shortest officer in the British armed forces — before entering the entertainment busi- ness. He had stage, film and cabaret roles before coming to prominence on David Frost’s satirical 1960s TV show The Frost Report.
In 1971 Corbett teamed up with Barker for a sketch show, The Two Ronnies. It ran for a dozen seasons over 16 years and at its peak had 17 million viewers. The pair’s verbal dexterity, comic timing and physical incongruence — the bulky Barker towered over the much shorter Corbett — made them favourites with millions of comedy fans.
Corbett also played a put-upon librarian in the 1980s sitcom Sorry! and hosted the game show Small Talk in 1995-96.