Amid the kerfuffle of a birthday shindig, Brian Donaldson meets Ronnie Corbett, screen legend and the real star of the Glasgow Comedy Festival, and discovers a man at peace with his past.
it the day I meet Ronnie ('orbett at the
Selsdon Park Hotel. the staff hay e rolled
otit the red carpet. Sadly. not for the area‘s most famous wee Scot. but for the Mayor of (‘roydon who will soon be arriving for lrene‘s 100th birthday celebrations. Yet w hen ('orbett first enters the building. the old folk in the \icinity hrrch towards him like parched golfers in hot pursuit of the l‘)th hole. None of them say "fork handles‘ or 'and it's goodnight from him" birt all are struck with excitement at seeing a bcloy ed celeb and have a hushed respect for a man who has recently lost someone may close to him.
Back in October. Ronnie Barker passed away aged 76 after heart trouble finally caught up with him. The sad irony is that the Two Ronnies has just charmed their way back into the nation’s consciousness after many years away from the limelight. Their .S'ls'r'tt'lt/mo/s' series last year was followed by a (‘hristmas special which was one of the most watched shows over the festiye Wriod. ‘After I hosted Ron‘s B;\l-'l}\ show. the BBC realised there was still mileage in the two of us and we were both tip for it.' recalls (‘orbett ‘But we filmed the ('hristmas special in .luly because he sensed that he was weakening.‘
When we meet. (‘orbett is still btrsy writing a six-minute eulogy he will give at Westminster Abbey for his comedy partner’s memorial tribute in early March. ‘lt won‘t be po-faced.~ says ('orbett as though anyone would ey'er hay e thought it would be. ‘l’eter Kay is doing something for it and Richard Briers too. His wile Joy wanted something smaller but it's a great honour; little would he hay'e realised what tributes were ahead.’ indeed. Barker is only the third comedian to have a memorial at the .-\bbey. Joyce Grenfell in l0.\’() and Les Dawson in MN had such grand send-offs before him.
While (‘orbett is clearly solemn discussing the
man he shared almost half a century of
showbusiness success with (from the often satirical The Host Report to the knockabout fun of The Two Rorrirr'esl he is ney'er' one to harbour a sad thought for too long. 'Bring Me Sunshine' was the signature tune of that other legendary British TV double act of the 70s and (‘orbett has taken on that sentiment: he is as hellbent on lilting spirits as he is on sinking putts. To say that he is a colourful character is a huge understatement. As well as the beaming personality. there are the clothes. I haye ended up wearing similar colour schemes to him today (green on top. brown underneath) but his attire has cranked up the glare factor by a notch or ten and when you add to this a scarlet red scarf t from Jenners: ‘I chose this to mark your arriy'al' l. you have little choice but to bask in the glow of his optimism. “Do l have any black clothes in my wardrobe'." he repeats back at me. chuckling his famous chuckle to a question which oy'er-
sensitiye types cotild deem a sartorial insult. \Vhile ('orbett has continued to work hard down the years and deser'yes any late lame he may gather up. he has also been sery ed well by a new galleon of comedy writers and performers who litHL‘ ltitilsc‘tl l‘eliit‘e the dawn Mi Mi called alternatiye comedy to cite their influences. 'l he league of (ientlenien eyperienced momentary stage fright during their l’ert‘iei‘ wmmng show ol I‘M" when spotting Ronnie in their audience. while Rob Brydon and Steye (‘oogan hay e olten spoken fondly of the lzdinbui'gh born wag, Brydon and Hand \Valliains haye written a part for (‘orbett t'as a lltigli llclner typea in their forthcoming sitcom Home and Ricky (ier'yais has been on the phone to see if ('orbett might make an appearance during the second series of l; trim. During the ‘llls. he was ey en persuaded to re\ he the legendary ‘chair spot' for Jim 'layare oii the liringe and for Ben lzlton's TV show. ‘I was \ei‘y flattered and ama/ed really. I remember being backstage while Ben was hectoring on about ceryical smears and male erectile problems and listening to the audience roaring with laughter. And there‘s me about to come on with my wee silly' cup of tea and a story abottt the library \Vhile ('orbett's comedy roots may haye been formed in the l.ondon reyue clubs of the l‘l5lls. he has neyer' been frightened to bulk tip his own knowledge about a comedy world which gets younger with each passing decade. Three years ago when I asked Rik .\laya|| what he thought ol
‘BEN ELTON WAS HECTORING ON
ABOUT MALE ERECTILE PROBLEMS AND THERE'S ME WITH MY WEE SILLY CUP OF TEA'
young comedians such as the Mighty Boosh. a deafening silence [Hills oy er the phone call. (’orbett actually brings tip the Boosh and chats happily about their cult status.
‘It‘s a completely different business now. in those day s. it was a struggle for a young person to go tip and make people laugh The heckler wasn't exert a twinkle in the (‘omedy Stores eye. other than in the city where he will perform at the 'l‘heatrc Royal. ‘.1\ few people would shout things out at the (ilasgow linrpirc when they really weren‘t meant to. for linglish comics. that
was horrifying. .\'ow. there are no language or
dialect barriers; in those days. if you didn't speak “Glasgow”. you weren‘t really welcome there. Now with teley'ision. those barriers hay e gonc.’
\Vhile insisting that he will haye few neryes when he litlse\ to the (ilttsgtiyy stage. he is wary of the ‘smartarse critics'. When he was in Leicester at their comedy festiyal iii l'ebruary. one of them gaye Roseanne Barr 'a fair old cleaning'. While no one should espect Ronnie (‘orbett to break down any barriers with his set in (ilasgow. he will haye the words of Val l)oonican. another sweetly sartorial 7(ls legend. ringing in his ears. ‘He told me years ago that you should ney'er lose sight of what the public first liked about you.‘
Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Sat 11 Mar. Thanks to GNER for travel. See gner.co.uk for train details. And thanks to the Selsdon Park Hotel for the red carpet.
SOLO VOYAGE
Going it alone after having been part of a famous double act is a tough old job. Here are some who have chosen or were forced to leave their dual showbusiness life behind - with varying degrees of success.
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‘.'?:' "' THE LIST 21