Ronnie Barker 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 the cast of BBC radio and television comedies such as "The Navy Lark". He got his
David Jason his sense of timing. The programme ended in 1969, and the character then appeared for a time in the Thames Television children's programme "Magpie". Jason was going to be cast in the role of Lance Corporal Jones in the Jimmy Perry and David Croft BBC comedy "Dad's Army". Croft had been very impressed with the actor and knew that he had the ability to play a man much older than his real age. However, Bill Cotton over-ruled him, casting Clive Dunn. Jason appeared in the BBC comedy series "Hugh and I", which starred Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott as two