RIP Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Barker - The General - 9/25/29 - 10/3/05
shareYes, may Mr Barker rest in peace. He was truly brilliant.
shareI loved him in this role.
"great minds think differently"
Never thought that much of him as a comedian. I wish he had more opportunities to have a go at serious roles like this one. I couldn't fault him in this film - he more than matched the brilliance of the other actors.
shareI think he was a great comedian - his comic writing was inspired. But I agree that it's sad that he didn't have more character roles, both comic and serious. Listening to him when he was presenting the Two Ronnies, or his performance in this film as the gentle, thoughtful General, one has to keep reminding yourself that Mr. Barker was also Mr. Norman Stanley Fletcher, one of the greatest British comic creations. And I think this is a mark of acting genius - the lag Fletcher is so removed from the gentleman that Ronnie Barker was, you have to compare the two to realise just how good he was. Then compare Fletcher to the stuttering, penny-pinching shopkeeper in Open All Hours. But I guess this is the irony of truly brilliant acting - it seems so effortless, so real, that you almost don't realise you're watching the very best.
I too wish that Ronnie B could have done more serious acting roles. He was marvellous in this and also in "The Gathering Storm" as Churchill's butler, Inches. He is one of my all-time favourite actor/comedians, and a genius at script writing too. I've never found anyone with a bad word to say about him. Sorely missed.
shareHe was wonderful in this film and it showed his depth - there was so much sadness in his eyes. But to me his signature role was as the cranky greengrocer in Open All Hours.
RIP
I met Ronny some years ago when he had given up acting and was running an antique shop in the Cotswolds (England) He was a most unassuming modest quiet man, so different to the TV characters he had played over the years. He said he was truly happy and contented and I bought 2 books from him "A Pennyworth of Art" (which he signed personally to me) He was a collector of British Seaside post cards, and had composed 2 books featuring the best of these. A very sad loss, and it was nice to see Ronnie Corbet last week on Piers Morgan interview speak so kindly of him. Their thoughts were exactly the same when it came to appraisals of comedy routines. Not seen this film yet (recorded it tonight Film4 (UKTV) and look forward to seeing my old friend again.
shareThank you for that beautiful recollection.
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