Ronnie Barker was born in Bedford, and after a brief sojourn as a Bank Clerk, he joined the Manchester Repertory Company as an Assistant Stage Manager. However, a career on stage beckoned. In 1956, he landed his first radio appearance and two years later, appeared in Frankie Vaughan's first film, Wonderful Things! He then went on to appear in The Navy Lark and The Seven Faces of Jim, starring Jimmy Gilbert.
He further made his mark in 1966 on The Frost Report as a sketch-writer and performer. It was on this show that he met his future comedy partner Ronnie Corbett.
According to legend, when Barker and co-host Corbett were presenting the BAFTAS, a technical hitch occurred. They covered so well that producers offered them their own show. In 1971, they signed contracts with the BBC to record a series of shows called The Two Ronnies.
As a performer Ronnie Barker made comedy look effortlessly funny, as meticulous as he was talented.
He was also a prolific writer. After several years, a team meeting with a mysterious contributor to their show called Gerald Wiley was arranged. Wiley allegedly wrote about 75 per cent of the material used. The team met Ronnie Barker. He had wanted to ensure material was chosen for its quality, not his star status.
As well as The Two Ronnies, Barker found success with Porridge and Open All Hours. With all this under his belt, Barker announced his retirement in 1986.
Eleven years later the duo returned for a special tribute to The Two Ronnies in 1999. Ronnie Barker returned to our screens in 2002 in The Gathering Storm playing Churchill's butler.
In 2004, he was honoured by BAFTA in Ronnie Barker: A BAFTA Tribute.

Source: Wikipedia.org