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Robert Harper (28 January 1944 – 28 October 2020), known professionally as Bobby Ball, was a British comic, actor, singer and television host. He was best known as a member of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, with
Tommy Cannon Thomas Derbyshire (born 27 June 1938), known professionally as Tommy Cannon, is an English comic, actor and singer. He is best known as the straight man of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, in TV programm ...
(Thomas Derbyshire). They hosted their own ITV show, ''
The Cannon and Ball Show ''The Cannon and Ball Show'' was a successful comedy variety show on ITV featuring the double act comprising Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. The pair were booked to perform on seven episodes of '' Bruce Forsyth's Big Night'', but not all of their ...
'', for nine years between 1979 and 1988. Ball then went on to star in various sitcoms and dramas including ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...
'', '' Heartbeat'' and ''
Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...
''. In 2005, Ball took part in '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.


Early life

Ball was born at Boundary Park General Hospital in
Oldham, Lancashire Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, whic ...
, on 28 January 1944, to May (née Savage) and Bob Harper. He attended Crompton House C of E school, Shaw, Oldham, and briefly studied Shipping Management at Wigan Mining & Technical College before going to work in a factory as a welder, where he also met his future partner in comedy, Thomas Derbyshire (
Tommy Cannon Thomas Derbyshire (born 27 June 1938), known professionally as Tommy Cannon, is an English comic, actor and singer. He is best known as the straight man of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, in TV programm ...
).


Career


Cannon and Ball

Ball was one half of comedy duo Cannon and Ball, opposite his friend and colleague
Tommy Cannon Thomas Derbyshire (born 27 June 1938), known professionally as Tommy Cannon, is an English comic, actor and singer. He is best known as the straight man of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, in TV programm ...
. The duo's primetime Saturday night television series ''
The Cannon and Ball Show ''The Cannon and Ball Show'' was a successful comedy variety show on ITV featuring the double act comprising Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. The pair were booked to perform on seven episodes of '' Bruce Forsyth's Big Night'', but not all of their ...
'', was one of
LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
's most successful series, with consistently high viewing ratings that lasted for twelve years. They starred in the film '' The Boys in Blue'' together in 1982 and guest starred in the
Eric Sykes Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading com ...
slapstick film, '' Mr H Is Late'', in 1988. Other notable guest appearances were ''
The Kenny Everett Television Show ''The Kenny Everett Television Show'' is a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC1 from 1981 to 1988. It was presented by its main performer Kenny Everett, who wrote the material with Barry Cryer and Ray Cameron. Later in 1986 they were joined by ...
'' in 1982 and '' Shooting Stars'' in 1996. Cannon and Ball competed in the fifth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', and in 2011, Cannon and Ball were guest judges on one episode of ITV's ''
Show Me the Funny ''Show Me the Funny'' is a British reality show in which a group of ten comedians of varying experience visit ten different cities around the UK, performing tasks that are somehow meant to equip them with local knowledge to work into five-minute- ...
''.


Television

Ball was the creator of the ITV children's cartoon series ''Military Style!'', which aired in 1990, and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
children's cartoon series '' Juniper Jungle'', which aired in 1992. He played Mr. Turner (also known as Topsy Turner) in the ITV drama series '' Heartbeat'' from 2005 to 2006. From 2005 to 2008, he played Lenny in the BBC series ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...
''. In 2009, Ball starred in the comedy ''
The Fattest Man in Britain ''The Fattest Man in Britain'' is a comedy-drama written by Caroline Aherne and Jeff Pope, and directed by David Blair, which aired on ITV, STV & UTV on 20 December 2009. It starred Timothy Spall, wearing a fat suit for the title role, B ...
'' playing Morris Morrissey. In 2009, Ball was cast as Frank in the long-running
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
Sitcom ''
Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...
''. He first made a guest appearance in 2009 and two further guest appearances in 2011 (Series 4) and 2012 (Series 5), and became a recurring fixture from series 6 onwards. He appeared in the 2015 Christmas special, and returned alongside the cast for the eighth series in 2017, the ninth series in 2018 and the tenth series in 2019. Ball made his final appearance as Frank in the eleventh season, which began airing in January 2021, and was filmed a few weeks before his death. From 2011 to 2017, Ball played Barry in the Sky1 sitcom series '' Mount Pleasant''. The following year, he took part in
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
's ''
Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...
'' alongside Cannon. His second appearance on the show was for a '' Children in Need'' special in November 2013 with
Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom '' Not Going Out'', being a team captain on th ...
. In 2013, Ball played the role of Duckers in the ITV sitcom pilot '' The Security Men'', starring alongside the likes of
Brendan O'Carroll Brendan O'Carroll (born 17 September 1955) is an Irish actor, comedian, director, producer and writer. He is best known for portraying foul-mouthed matriarch Agnes Brown on stage and in the BBC and RTÉ television sitcom '' Mrs. Brown's Boys''. ...
and
Paddy McGuinness Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English actor, comedian and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of Peter Kay, who invited him to appear in his programmes ''That Peter Kay Thing'', '' Phoenix Nights'' and ''M ...
. The episode, written by
Caroline Aherne Caroline Mary Aherne (24 December 1963 – 2 July 2016) was an English actress, comedian and writer. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host '' Mrs Merton'', in various roles in '' The Fast Show'', and as Denise in '' The ...
and
Jeff Pope Jeff Pope is a British television producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the film ''Pierrepoint (film), Pierrepoint'' and the television drama ''The Fattest Man in Britain'' and who won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA in 2006 ...
, was later not picked up for a full series. Cannon and Ball appeared in ITV's ''Last Laugh in Vegas'' in 2018. Cannon and Ball have also previously starred in the
Safestyle UK Safestyle UK plc, part of the Style Group UK, is a provider of PVCu double glazed windows, doors, French doors, patio sliding doors, bifolding doors and conservatories in the United Kingdom. History Established on 22 December 1992 with £2,000 ...
television advertisements. In November 2019, he played the regular character Ray, stepdad to Joe Wilkinson's character Simon, in ''
The Cockfields ''The Cockfields'' is a British television sitcom created by Joe Wilkinson and David Earl, and produced by Yellow Door Productions for Gold. It aired over two series from 12 November 2019 until 12 November 2021, including a Christmas special, ...
''.


Personal life

Ball married his first wife, Joan Lynn, in 1964, with whom he had two sons, Robert (born 1965) and Darren (born 1969), who are now a comedy double act in their own right, performing under their surname 'Harper'. Ball and Lynn separated in 1970. Ball married his second wife, Yvonne Nugent, in 1974. In an interview on
BBC Tees BBC Radio Tees is the BBC's local radio station serving the former county of Cleveland which comprises the unitary authorities of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV ...
on 28 June 2016, Ball said that he met Yvonne while performing with Cannon at a club in
Norton, County Durham Norton is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It stands on higher ground to the south, further away from the River Tees than Stockton town centre. They are small areas west of the area called Roseworth and ...
: "We were playing there ... she came downstairs in a little mini skirt, looked at me and Tommy, shook her head and walked away. I thought, 'I'd spend my life with her.'" Ball and his wife lived in
Lytham St Annes, Lancashire Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the 2011 census was 42,954. The town is almost contiguous with ...
. Together they had a daughter Joanne born in 1972. By 1983, Ball's friendship with Cannon had deteriorated and the pair did not speak to each other outside of rehearsals and performances. In 1986, while working at the
Bradford Alhambra The Alhambra Theatre is a theatre in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, named after the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, which was the place of residence of the Emir of the Emirate of Granada. It was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 fo ...
, Ball began talking with chaplain Max Wrigley. Ball said: "I got talking to him and attacked him verbally about God. But he had a peace about him. I can't explain exactly what he had but he had something that I didn't have. One day I asked to speak to him and after a while he said, 'Let's pray.' I'd never prayed in my life but we prayed and it just changed my life – like that e snaps his fingers" Shortly afterward Ball became a Christian, which helped re-kindle his broken friendship with Cannon. Cannon became a Christian in 1992, with the pair publishing a book called ''Christianity for Beginners''. They regularly featured in their own gospel and "An audience with..." show in churches around the country. He also taught vicars and clergy how to incorporate humor in sermons. He published an autobiography, entitled ''My Life'', in 1993. He was a supporter of the
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
Children's Charity, presiding over the organization's ceremonies and appearing in fundraising events. He received a lifetime achievement honor from Variety, in 2018.


Death

Ball died from
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
complications at the Victoria Hospital in Blackpool on 28 October 2020, at the age of 76. A small tribute was paid to Ball after the closing credits of the 2021 New Year's special of ''
Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...
'', which was the first episode broadcast after his death. A longer tribute of about 2 minutes was broadcast at the end of Series 11 Episode 5 entitled War, his last television performance, which was first aired on 5 February 2021.


Filmography

;Film ;Television


References


External links


Official websiteCannon and Ball official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Bobby 1944 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Converts to Christianity English male comedians English stand-up comedians English male television actors English television personalities Male actors from Oldham English Christians AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England