Ronnie Corbett
"Ronnie was pure gold in triplicate; as a performer, a writer and a friend. We had worked together since 1965 and never had a cross word. It was 40 years of harmonious joy, nothing but an absolute pleasure. I will miss him terribly, but he went out on a lift. He was delighted that the Two Ronnies Sketchbook had gone so well, bringing us to a new generation of audiences."
David Jason
"I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Ronnie's death. He was a very dear friend and someone for whom I had the greatest respect. Working with Ronnie was always a joy and were, without doubt, some of the best years of my career. The world of entertainment has lost a huge talent, but my thoughts today have to be for Joy, his wife, and his family and close friends who have lost a man they loved so much."
Bruce Forsyth
"Ronnie Barker was irreplaceable. He was a terrific actor and he also had a very quick brain. He was always looking for the laugh. Whenever we met socially at awards ceremonies and the like we would all sit at tables trying to make sure we cracked the best jokes of the evening."
Michael Grade, BBC chairman
"It would be hard to find anybody in the comedy business - whether actor or comedian - who would not fully understand the comedy genius of Ronnie Barker. He's up there with Morecombe and Wise, and you can't have greater praise than that. My children and my grandchildren will be watching the Two Ronnies, Porridge and Open All Hours as long as there's television. He's one of the most memorable, greatest performers of the television age."
Jon Plowman, BBC head of comedy entertainment
"It's a very sad day for comedy. He was undoubtedly an extraordinarily talented comedy writer and performer who will be missed by us all. He brought an amazing skill to everything he wrote and performed. During his extraordinary career his hit rate was unsurpassed from sitcom to variety - his ability to create characters was second to none. In a unique way he straddled generations from variety to alternative comedy and was master of all he touched. An encourager to performers new and old, the world is a sadder place for his passing."
Michael Hurll, producer on The Two Ronnies, said Barker's partnership with the diminutive Ronnie Corbett ranked alongside that of Morecambe and Wise in importance. "I don't think we will see their like again. Ronnie Barker meant to comedy in this country laughs, big laughs and laughs that you will always remember."
Nicholas Parsons, broadcaster
"If anybody could have been called a comic genius it was Ronnie. Ronnie Barker was a true icon of situation comedy and character comedy and there was nobody to my mind to touch him."
Peter Fincham, controller, BBC1
"The loss of Ronnie Barker leaves an empty space on BBC1 that can't easily be filled. He was a great comedian who found his ideal medium in television where his performances radiated warmth, truth and humanity. He appealed across the generations and to the widest possible audience. He'll be sorely missed.'
Jon Plowman, BBC head of comedy
"Ronnie Barker was a genius. He had an everyman quality and he loved words. he could just do it. he was a perfectionist, and I think we can all respect that. He was an extraordinary guy and an encourager as well as a brilliant performer and writer."
Beatrice Ballard, BBC creative head of entertainment events, executive producer of The Two Ronnies Sketchbook and Ronnie Barker - a Bafta Tribute
"Ronnie Barker was a comedy genius - he was both a brilliant performer and also an incredibly talented writer. I was fortunate enough to work closely with Ronnie over the last three - initially on Ronnie Barker - a Bafta Tribute, which in turn led to the hugely successful Two Ronnies Sketchbook series, which transmitted on BBC1 earlier this year and won huge audiences and critical acclaim. Ronnie loved making the Sketchbook series, because he found a whole new generation were coming to enjoy and appreciate the brilliant sketches that he and Ronnie Corbett performed together. Ronnie was a joy to work with and had a fantastic sense of what worked as entertainment for the audience. He really had comedy in his bones. He was also a lovely man, devoted to his wife Joy and their lovely family. I will miss him hugely."
Sir Peter Hall, theatre director
"He was not only a great comedian but a great actor. Ronnie Barker illuminated more than 50 years of our lives with laughter. He was a good friend since our days in rep together. I will miss him."
John Cleese, who began his comedy career with Barker in the 1960s comedy series The Frost Report
"I was very sad to hear of the death of Ronnie Barker, who was such a warm, friendly and encouraging presence to have when I started in television. He was also a great comic actor to learn from."
Ben Elton, comedian
"Britain has lost one of its greatest comic artists, but he lives on in an incomparable body of work which will continue to bring joy to millions." Peter Kay, comedian
"I'm so very sad, I think everybody will feel that sadness. It leaves a huge hole in our lives when somebody like Ronnie passes, just like Eric Morecambe you feel like you've lost a dear friend. He made me laugh so much and I'm just so lucky to have been able to get to know my hero and the person that I aspire to be. My thoughts go out to Joy and the rest of his family."
Craig Cash, comedian
"A great writer, a great actor and a great loss to us all. I think God must have needed cheering up."
Wayne Garvie, BBC head of entertainment
"Ronnie is synonymous with BBC Entertainment. The phenomenal success this year of The Two Ronnies Sketchbook illustrated the deep well of affection the British public have for one of our greatest ever comic talents. For those of us who worked on that series it was a privilege to witness at first hand his writing and performing genius."
Dave Spikey, comedian and co-writer of Pheonix Nights
"He was a massive influence over British comedy, an instinctively brilliant comedian and actor. His characterisations were perfect, as was his timing and inflection - a masterclass. He was undoubtably the best in the field. He was wonderful. I've got a book of all of the Porridge scripts and when you read them, it's just Ronnie Barker speaking. Wonderful."
Michael Palin, former Monty Python star
"I can't think of anyone who knew how to play comedy better than Ronnie Barker and I count myself enormously fortunate to have known and worked with him. Ronnie was a straightforward, down to earth man who had this extraordinary ability to make the nation laugh, probably more often than anyone else I know."
Barry Norman, film critic
"He was one of the finest comedy actors that this country has produced. Whether it was in Porridge, playing old lag Fletcher, or playing a shopkeeper in Open All Hours, he was superb. His death is a huge loss for us all. I think it is a pity he never made it into films but he was just an ordinary bloke. He had great modesty and integrity and off stage he was genuinely charming. I remember opening a cinema in Milton Keynes with him. Afterwards, when we sat having a drink he told me he was going to retire. I asked him why as he was at the top and he said that there would not be a better time to go. As a man he had a confidence about him that came from the fact that he knew deep down that he was good. He may not have been a gag-a-minute off screen but he was an actor. He was also a great writer and wrote many of the sketches for The Two Ronnies under a pseudonym. He will be greatly missed - a true legend."
Kenton Allen, BBC comedy editor
"Ronnie Barker was one of the funniest men in the world. That's how he said he wanted to be remembered and that seems to be the most fitting way to think of him on this terribly sad day. The amazing archive of comic characters and series and performances that he leaves behind are the work of a true original. A one-off never to be equalled. He was also one of the most influential, if not the most influential comedy writer and actor of the last 50 years. He set the comic bar incredibly high and his legacy will continue to inspire generations of performers for many years to come. His colossal talent combined with his immensely private nature meant that in these celebrity-obsessed times Ronnie stands as a genuine testament to what true talent is."
Bernard Manning, comedian
"He was a comic genius in the golden era of comedy, and he had the right partner in Ronnie Corbett. You get a chemistry like that and you can't script it, you just gel or you don't ... He was absolute magic."
Matt Smith, Sky News showbusiness correspondent
"He was one of the first comedians to break away from sketch shows. His serious roles got forgotten, he was so memorable as Arkwright on Open All Hours and Fletcher in Porridge, he was a massively talented actor ... In 70s TV land you were typecast, but Ronnie Barker was the first to break the mould and move to drama."
Steve Armstrong, The Times comedy critic
"Once people saw how well he could perform people queued up to write for him. He could do sitcom without hamming it up or going over the top ... When he tried Going Straight and some of the later stuff, he became dissatisfied and decided, 'Right, that's it, I've done it now and I'm stopping'. In terms of acting his is a quality we're struggling to find in people now."