The Ronnie Barker Playhouse
Encyclopedia
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse was a series of six comedy half hours showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker
. All were broadcast by Associated-Rediffusion
in 1968.
The series was written by Brian Cooke
, Hugh Leonard
, Johnnie Mortimer
and Alun Owen
. The producers were Stella Richman
and actress Stella Tanner. The executive producer was David Frost
.
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
. All were broadcast by Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
in 1968.
The series was written by Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke is a British comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer wrote scripts for and devised many of the top TV sitcoms of the 1970s, including Man About the House, George and Mildred and Robin's Nest...
, Hugh Leonard
Hugh Leonard
Hugh Leonard was an Irish dramatist, television writer and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote more than 18 plays, two volumes of essays and two autobiographies, one novel and numerous screenplays and teleplays, as well as writing a regular newspaper column.-Life and...
, Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer was a British scriptwriter for television.He started out as a cartoonist, which brought him into contact with his writing partner Brian Cooke...
and Alun Owen
Alun Owen
Alun Owen was a British screenwriter, predominantly active in television, but best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature film A Hard Day's Night ....
. The producers were Stella Richman
Stella Richman
Stella Richman was a British television producer.Originally an actress, she had a bit part in the second episode of The Quatermass Experiment in 1953, Richman was appointed script editor at Lew Grade's Associated TeleVision in 1960 working on single plays. Grade's sole condition was that her...
and actress Stella Tanner. The executive producer was David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
.
Episode list
- Show 1 - Tennyson
- Transmitted 3 April 1968
- Also starring Dudley Jones, Richard O'Callaghan, Talfryn ThomasTalfryn ThomasTalfryn Thomas was a British character actor, best known for supporting roles on British television in the 1970s.-Biography:Talfryn Thomas was born in Swansea on 31 October 1922....
, Gwendolyn WattsGwendolyn WattsGwen Watts was a British actress of the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:Born as Gwendolyn Watts in Carhampton, Somerset, Watts made her first television appearance in 1958 in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, going on to appear in The Rag Trade , The Avengers , Maigret , Steptoe and Son ,...
.
- Show 2 - Ah, There You Are
- Transmitted 10 April 1968
- Also starring George A. CooperGeorge A. CooperGeorge A. Cooper is an English actor.One of his best-known roles was as the caretaker Mr. Griffiths in the long-running children's TV series Grange Hill...
, Sandra Michaels and Bill Shine
- Show 3 - The Fastest Gun in Finchley
- Transmitted 17 April 1968
- Also starring Walter Horsbrugh, Colin JeavonsColin JeavonsColin Jeavons is a Welsh television actor.-Career:Jeavons is best known as Inspector Lestrade in the Granada television serials The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, or the part of the undertaker, Shadrack, in the television situation comedy written by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall from...
, Sheila KeithSheila KeithSheila Keith was a British actress, active in films and TV, born to Scottish parents in London while they were visiting the city and brought up in Aberdeen, Scotland....
, Glenn Melvyn, Charlotte MitchellCharlotte MitchellCharlotte Mitchell is an English actress and poet.She was once the girlfriend of Peter Sellers, hence her occasional appearances on The Goon Show in the 1950s. Charlotte Mitchell was married to actor Philip Guard and is the mother of 3 children, actors Christopher Guard and Dominic Guard and...
- Show 4 - The Incredible Mister Tanner
- Transmitted 24 April 1968
- Also starring Alec ClunesAlec ClunesAlexander "Alec" Demoro Sherriff Clunes was an English actor and stage manager.Among the plays he presented were Christopher Fry's famous play The Lady's Not For Burning. He gave the actor and dramatist Sir Peter Ustinov his first break with his production The House of Regrets. His film career was...
, Frank Gatliff, Doris HareDoris HareDoris Hare MBE was a Welsh actress, best known for her appearances as "Mum" in the popular sitcom On the Buses alongside Reg Varney and Stephen Lewis....
, Richard O'Sullivan
- Show 5 - Talk of Angels
- Transmitted 1 May 1968
- Also starring Liz CrowtherLiz CrowtherElizabeth Ann 'Liz' Crowther is an English television actress. She is the daughter of comedian Leslie Crowther....
, Gillian Fairchild, Donald HewlettDonald HewlettDonald Marland Hewlett was an English actor, born in Northenden, Manchester, and best known for his sitcom roles as Colonel Charles Reynolds in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Lord Meldrum in You Rang, M'Lord?, both written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft...
, David KellyDavid KellyDavid Christopher Kelly, CMG was a British scientist and expert on biological warfare, employed by the British Ministry of Defence, and formerly a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq...
, Maureen Toal
- Show 6 - Alexander
- Transmitted 8 May 1968
- Also starring Pamela Ann DavyPamela Ann DavyPamela Ann Davy is an Australian actress, who was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is best known for her roles on British television during the 1960s...
, Molly Urquhart, Pauline YatesPauline YatesPauline Yates is an English actress best known for playing Elizabeth Perrin in the BBC television sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin...
Trivia
- All the episodes were directed by Michael Lindsay-HoggMichael Lindsay-HoggSir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet is a British television and stage director and an occasional writer and actor.-Background and early work:...
, who the following year would direct The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
in Let It BeLet It Be (film)Let It Be is a 1970 documentary film about The Beatles rehearsing and recording songs for the album Let It Be in January 1969. The film features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public...