Ronnie Corbett

Corbett was born on 4 December 1930 at The Royal Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of William Balfour Corbett (1898–1974), a master baker, and his London-born wife, Annie Elizabeth Corbett (née Main; 1900–1991). He had a brother about six years younger, Allan, and a sister about ten years younger, Margaret. Corbett's grandfather was principal organist at St Andrew’s Church of Scotland in the early 20th century and features in church histories of the time. Corbett was educated at James Gillespie's Boys School and the Royal High School in the city. After leaving school he decided he wanted to be an actor while performing in amateur theatricals at a church youth club. His first job, however, was with the Ministry of Agriculture. Having enlisted as aircraftman 2nd class Service No 2446942, he received a commission into the secretarial branch of the RAF as a pilot officer (national service) on 25 May 1950. He transferred to the RAF Reserve (National Service List) on 28 October 1951, thereby ending his period of active service. He was promoted to flying officer on 6 September 1952. ==Career==

Following national service, Corbett moved to London to start his acting career. References to his height frequently cropped up in his self-deprecating humour. In one of his earliest stage appearances, he was billed as "Ronald Corbett" at Cromer in Take it Easy in 1956, with Graham Stark. In 1965 he was in cabaret at ''Winston's'', Danny La Rue's Mayfair nightclub. David Frost saw him and asked him to appear in The Frost Report. Corbett was in the West End, playing Will Scarlett in Lionel Bart's Robin Hood musical Twang!!. It failed, leaving Corbett free to accept. It was while working at Danny La Rue's nightclub that Corbett met Anne Hart, whom he was to marry that year. The marriage lasted 49 years, until his death. == Appearing in pantomime in Glasgow ==

In 1966, Corbett appeared in "Cinderella" as one of the "Ugly sisters"; the other being played by Stanley Baxter. Also in the pantomime was Lonnie Donegan, who played "Buttons". According to "The Stage", this was Corbett's first lead role on the Scottish stage. With David Frost Corbett first worked with Ronnie Barker in The Frost Report (1966–67). The writers and cast were mostly Oxbridge graduates from the Footlights tradition. Corbett said he and Barker were drawn together as two grammar school or state secondary school boys, who had not gone to university. The show was a mixture of satirical monologues, sketches and music. Corbett and Barker were beginning to be thought of as a pair. They appeared with John Cleese in one of the most repeated comedy sketches in British television: the Class sketch. Corbett's height provided a key cue for both the visual humour and satirical value of the sketch, as he "looked up" to both Cleese and Barker's characters, and he got the pay-off line: "I get a pain in the back of my neck." Continuing under Frost, Corbett starred in ''No – That's Me Over Here!, a sitcom written by Frost Report writers Barry Cryer, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle (ITV 1967–70). Cryer and Chapman wrote two follow-ups: Now Look Here (BBC 1971–73) and The Prince of Denmark (BBC 1974). Corbett also appeared in Frost on Sunday (ITV 1968) and hosted The Corbett Follies'' (ITV 1969). a satire on inflation. Corbett was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in April 1970 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while appearing on the Frost on Sunday programme. The Two Ronnies Corbett's BBC television comedy show with Ronnie Barker, The Two Ronnies, ran from 1971 to 1987. Barker and Corbett performed sketches and musical numbers. Corbett presented a monologue. Sitting in a large easy chair (emphasising his small size), and usually wearing a Lyle & Scott golfing V-neck sweater, he would stretch telling a simple joke over several minutes, often allowing himself to appear to lose his train of thought. In 1996, he appeared on the première of the short-lived BBC game show Full Swing, hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck. Corbett played Reggie Sea Lions in the film Fierce Creatures (1997), written by his former Frost Report colleague John Cleese. He also starred as himself in Little Britain Abroad, in which Bubbles DeVere tried successfully to seduce him. He opened the centre in Cromer, Norfolk, named after Henry Blogg. Corbett was the castaway in the BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs on 21 October 2007. In 2007, he appeared in an episode of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word. He featured as a Slitheen in a Sarah Jane Adventures episode for Red Nose Day 2009. He had a television interview about his life on 7 November 2009 for ''Piers Morgan's Life Stories''. In February 2010, Corbett was in the John Landis thriller comedy Burke & Hare. In August 2010 he was a panellist in the BBC 1 comedy show Would I Lie to You?. In the same month, he was the star of the Good Food HD programme ''Ronnie Corbett's Supper Club'' with Rob Brydon and Steve Speirs. The show's premise was that the main guest of the programme must choose a meal as if it were their last, and Corbett would cook it for him/her and his other guest, while they chatted about the guest's past and their current/future projects. In December of the same year he starred in a one-off special, The One Ronnie. From 2010, Corbett starred in the BBC Radio 4 sitcom When The Dog Dies. The series reunited him with Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, the writers of Sorry! ==Award and honours==

Already an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Corbett was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity. In 2002 the Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh awarded him an honorary degree. ==Personal life==

On 30 May 1966, Corbett married Anne Hart, an actress and dancer; they had two daughters, both of whom became actresses. Their first child, a son, had a heart defect and died when he was 6 weeks old at St Thomas' Hospital, in London. He also had a Scottish home in Gullane, East Lothian, and often spoke of wanting to become a beekeeper but never got round to it. Corbett was a golfer and appeared in celebrity and pro–am events; in 2009 he made a documentary with Colin Montgomerie in which they played at Gleneagles. A keen cricket fan, Corbett was also a president of the cricketing charity the Lord's Taverners (1982 and 1987). He supported his local football club, Crystal Palace FC, as well as his hometown club, Heart of Midlothian FC. In mid-2014 Corbett attended a party at 10 Downing Street hosted by the Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron. In August 2014 Corbett was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. ==Death==

On 31 March 2016 Corbett died aged 85 at Shirley Oaks Hospital in Shirley, London, surrounded by his family. John Cleese said that Corbett had "the best timing" he had ever watched. Bruce Forsyth said Corbett's death marked "one of the saddest days of my life". Corbett's funeral service, for family and friends, was held on 18 April 2016 at the St John the Evangelist Church near his home in Shirley. In tribute to one of his classic Two Ronnies comedy sketches, four candles were displayed at the back of the altar. His body was cremated following a private service at Croydon Crematorium. Mourners included Walliams, Michael Parkinson, Rob Brydon and Jimmy Tarbuck. Barry Cryer, who worked with and had first met Corbett 50 years before, said, "I can't think of him without smiling... I'm here and tipping my hat to him." A memorial service for Corbett was held in Westminster Abbey on 7 June 2017. His widow, Anne Hart, died on 5 November 2023 in Scotland, aged 90. ==Filmography==