Ronnie Corbett, British entertainer and comedian, dies aged 85
LONDON -- Ronnie Corbett, the entertainer and comedian who graced British screens for several decades, has died aged 85.
Corbett passed away surrounded by family, his publicist said Thursday morning.
He starred in several popular TV shows in the 1960s and 70s as well as a number of films, but was perhaps best known for his sketch show with Ronnie Barker, The Two Ronnies, which ran for 17 years from 1971.
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"Ronnie Corbett CBE, one of the nation's best-loved entertainers, passed away this morning, surrounded by his loving family," his publicist said.
"They have asked that their privacy is respected at this very sad time."
The BBC's Director-General Tony Hall paid tribute Thursday. "Ronnie Corbett was a wonderful comic and entertainer. A man of great charm and warmth who brought laughter and joy to millions," he said. "He was quite simply one of the true greats of British comedy."
"He was quite simply one of the true greats of British comedy."
Corbett, who was born in Edinburgh in 1930, started his career on the stage but was quickly snapped up by David Frost for the BBC's satirical show The Frost Report, which also featured John Cleese, in 1967.
From there, he starred in the sitcom No - That's Me Over Here and a number of other shows before finding his career-defining moment on The Two Ronnies. Renowned for its trademark wit and the banter between the titular Ronnies, the show was a roaring success.
Corbett also delivered a monologue to camera seated in a large chair during each episode, which accentuated his diminutive size (he was barely five foot tall).
In the 1980s, he starred in the sitcom Sorry! and in the 1990s he hosted the game show Small Talk.
He continued appearing on TV into the noughties, with cameos on Little Britain Abroad and Ricky Gervais' Extras, where he pretended to be caught taking drugs at the Bafta awards.
He had been suffering from ill health for a while, the BBC reports, and spent time in hospital in 2014 for gall bladder problems.
Fellow celebrities and politicians paid tribute to Corbett on Thursday.
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Topics BBC
Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.
