Customer Reviews
4 Candles, ...Sorry, 4 stars for Autobiography of 2 Stars of Comedy - By: D. Wright, 04 Nov 2008 
This is a wonderfully entertaining look at the lives of 2 legends of British comedy & both their working & personal relationships with each other. The book gives a short autobiographical introduction to both Ronnies & cleverly describes how their partnership ticked.
Ronnie Corbett is modest, & open about what he sees as his lesser talent compared the late Ronnie Barker; he is,in fact, too modest - it is hard too see how Barker could have been as funny with any other partner plus Corbett's monologues are superb.
Corbett's assertion is that the 2 Ronnies' similar upper-working/ lower middle class background & the fact that neither one studied at University meant they had a different approach from the Oxbridge or "Gifted Amateur" approach of Cook/Moore or the Pythons: both Ronnies were experienced performers before they even reached TV. As Corbett pointsin this book the Oxbridge performers could have returned to medicine, teaching, etc.... if their careers stalled but the Ronnies had no such luxury. This maturity & professionalism meant they could accept collaborative working styles & this explained their longevity as a double act as they were both mature enough to respect the other. (Compare this with Pete'N' Dud who were ready to trottle each other within a few years.)
They had an "open marriage" of a partnership: they weren't jealous of each other's outside projects. Also, we read of how they had very different personalities- Corbett:, extrovert, a performer; Barker: private, shy, a writer as well as actor. This book is a tribute to Barker & there is genuine warmthin Corbett's recalling of the tributes made to the retired Barker that re-ignited his deire to perform that was one of the reasons that lead to the reuniting of the pair.
Touchingly we read of how Barker's declining health lead to both his premature retirement and, ironically, perhaps another reason to come back for the "Sketchbook" series as he knew his time was short.
There only a few minor quibbles I could make; I think Barker & Corbett over-reacted to a "Not the Nine O'Clock News" parody of them & their seaside postcard humour & why do need a bit of comtemporary history to precis the scene every few chapters?
Overall, a warm, generous & thoughtful bookin an age of spiteful, cash-in autoiogrpahies.
A great read for fans of comedy - By: Bookworm, 25 Mar 2008 
This book is a great one to read if you want to feel 'closer' to the Two Ronnies, & to really begin to understand how they constructed their comedy. It's only downfall is that it is not very well written; iniatially this is quite irritating, but as the book progresses & you become used to the style you can almost hear Ronnie Corbett speaking the words from his big chair.
This book gave an insight into Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett - By: Andy Capp, 01 Jan 2008 This book gave an insight into Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett & I enjoyed the book.
Ronnie Corbett goes on to tell us that he worked at a club & then he was involved with the Frost Report & that is how he met Ronnie Barker.
What I liked about this book is that some sketches that they had donein the Two Ronnies were therein the book to read so as I read I could imagine what went on as I have seen the sketches on TV particularly The Four Candles Sketch. Alsoin the book was the Upper Class Sketch where the Two Ronnies were standing on boxes alongside John Cleese.
It was interesting to read about how much time & effort was put into the making of The Two Ronnies & its surprising because we the readers do not know about Behind the Scenes work involvedin the programme.
I wasn't keen when the locations were mentioned & I think this is because I wasn't sure where the actual places were.
On the whole I think this is a very good book & I think that if Ronnie Barker were alive today he would have been very pleased with Ronnie Corbett's efforts because they worked brilliantly as a team.
Anybody who is a fan of The Two Ronnies, this is the book for you & you won't be disappointed.
An affectionate reminder of a well loved partnership - By: Bantam Dave, 10 Sep 2007 Just as Ant & Dec are now the faces of Saturday night TV backin the 70's & 80's that role fell upon a slightly older partnership, The Two Ronnies.
The Two Ronnies shows set the benchmarkin TV comedy that as subsequently never been bettered or even equalled. Although they both looked like most peoples idea of kindly uncles their shows were brimming with a mixture of saucy seaside postcard like humour, subtle & unsubtle wordplay (of which Ronnie Barker was a master) & funny musical skits, all or some of which could be relied to appeal to both young & old alike.
This book is the story of the Two Ronnies & is an affectionate remininiscence of the series, & is a gentle & undemanding read.
Although this book is subtitled 'The Autobiography of the Two Ronnies' don't expect any scandal or the releasing of skeletonsin closets. This isn't that type of book, & I suspect the people to who it will appeal wouldn't want to read anything like that anyway.
It is clear from this book that both Ronnies were thoroughly decent & unspoilt characters & the high regardin which they held each other is plain to see.
a gentle and charming read - By: T. Longhurst, 01 Aug 2007 
Having read the Bob Mccabe biography of Ronnie Barker, it seemed only fair to check out Mr Corbett's bio also.
The pace of RC's book is much slower, gentler than that of the RB book, but it still provides a rich & colourful description of his early family life, his break into the world of media, his signing with David Frost, working with Cleese, Palin & others & obviously his teaming up with the marvellous Ronnie Barker.
As you would expect, there are anecdotal passages featuring other celebrities (and a useful index to boot) but mostly its Ronnie simply sharing his thoughts, decisions & experiences at various junctionsin his life. At times, Ronnie seems compelled to take the narrative off into his famous meandering sequences (like those on the big chairin the Two Ronnies) but he soon makes his way back to the point, none the worse for wear!
I was surprised how much detail Ronnie spoke of his friend Barker, happily retelling some of the stories I'd already seenin RB's biograpy although adding his own unique perspective. It felt like Ronnie was still very happy to share the limelight with his friend evenin his own biography. The friendship & devotion of this unique partnership & their obvious devotion to their art shines through. I found Ronnie's description of the death of his friend poignant & touching but without becoming gloomy or overly sentimental.
My only disappointment was that Ronnie didnt touch on his most recent exploits (his appearancein Extras for example) but this may have been after the book was written.
Allin all, the book is an fun, interesting & enjoyable read for those wanting to know more about Mr Corbett & expecially the workings of the Two Ronnies. But it's also a very fine & warm tribute to Ronnie Barker & the affection still felt by RC for RB is lovely to read.
