Ronnie Barker in August 2017 by Ben Elton. Elton's lecture focused on the future of the British sitcom. Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker, (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as "Porridge", "The Two Ronnies", and "Open All Hours". Barker began acting in repertory theatre and decided he was best suited to comic roles. He had his first success at the Oxford Playhouse and in roles in the West End including Tom Stoppard's "The Real Inspector Hound". During this period, he was in
Jason King (TV series) inspirations (especially his clothes) for Kim Newman's psychic crime fighter and secret agent Richard Jeperson. Wyngarde is said to have been the inspiration for the character of Fireball in the strip of the same name in D.C. Thompson's "Bullet" comic. "The Two Ronnies" performed a sketch entitled 'Jason King', with Ronnie Corbett putting on all the airs and graces of King and Ronnie Barker playing a suspect in a murder investigation, during their third series in 1973. Jason King was also the basis for Jason Bentley, played by Peter Richardson in the "Comic Strip Presents" episode "Detectives on the Edge