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 A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

Cannon and Ball Cannon and Ball were an English double act comprising Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball, who met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham, Lancashire. They started as singers working the pubs and clubs of Greater Manchester and switched ...

, 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 ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

show, '' The Cannon and Ball Show'', for nine years between 1979 and 1988. Ball then went on to have acting roles in various sitcoms and dramas including ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire 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 seri ...

'', ''

Heartbeat Heartbeat, heart beat or heartbeats may refer to: Science and technology * Heartbeat (biology), one cardiac cycle of the heart * Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system ** Heartbea ...

'' and ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom created, written by and starring Lee Mack. It has aired on BBC One since 2006 and is the second-longest-running British sitcom, behind ''Last of the Summer Wine'' (1973–2010). Th ...

''. 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, 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 (

Career

Cannon and Ball

Ball was one half of comedy duo Cannon and Ball, opposite his friend and colleague

. The duo's primetime Saturday night television series '' The Cannon and Ball Show'', 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 ...

's most successful series, with consistently high viewing ratings that lasted for nine 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 24 December 1981 to 18 January 1988. It was presented by its main performer Kenny Everett, who wrote the material with Barry Cryer and Ray Cameron. Later in 198 ...

'' 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 on ITV, 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 fiv ...

''.

Television

Ball was the creator of the

children's cartoon series ''Military Style!'', which aired in 1990, and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

children's cartoon series '' Juniper Jungle'', which aired in 1992. He played Mr. Turner (also known as Topsy Turner) in the ITV drama series ''

'' from 2005 to 2006. Between 2005 and 2008, he played Lenny in three episodes of the BBC series ''

''. 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 on 20 December 2009. It starred Timothy Spall, wearing a fat suit for the title role, Bobby Ball, Aisl ...

'' 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 channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

sitcom ''

''. 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 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989 ...

sitcom series '' Mount Pleasant''. The following year, he took part in

's ''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay Entertainment subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC and hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode, four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but ob ...

'' alongside Cannon. His second appearance on the show was for a ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' 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 and actor, famed for his quick wit. Mack’s better known work includes creating, writing and starring in sitcom ''Not Going Out'', and featuring ...

. In 2013, Ball played the role of Duckers in the

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 List of Mrs. Brown's Boys characters#Agnes Brown, Agnes Brown on stage and in the BBC a ...

and

Paddy McGuinness Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of fellow comedian Peter Kay, who invited him to appear on the television comedy series '' That Peter ...

. The episode, written by

Caroline Aherne Caroline Mary Aherne (24 December 1963 – 2 July 2016) was an English actress, comedian, writer and director. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host '' Mrs Merton'', in various roles in '' The Fast Show'', and as Denise ...

and

Jeff Pope Jeff Pope is a British television producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the film '' Pierrepoint'' and the television drama '' The Fattest Man in Britain'' and who won a BAFTA in 2006 for the drama '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders''.

, 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 Safestyle UK , was 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 £2,00 ...

television advertisements. In November 2019, he played the regular character Ray, stepdad to Joe Wilkinson's character Simon, in '' The Cockfields''.

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, formerly known as BBC Radio Teesside, BBC Radio Cleveland and then BBC Tees, is a BBC local radio station broadcasting from Broadcasting House, Newport Road, Middlesbrough. It broadcasts to parts of County Durham and North Yor ...

on 28 June 2016, Ball said that he met Yvonne while performing with Cannon at a club in

Norton, County Durham Norton, also known as Norton-on-Tees, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, in County Durham, England. The suburbs of Roseworth and Ragworth are notable areas of the town. Billingham Beck is to the east of the town, the beck flo ...

: "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 of the built-up area at the 2021 census was 42,695. The town is ma ...

. 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 for t ...

, Ball began talking with chaplain Max Wigley. 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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 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 humour into 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 at the Victoria Hospital in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, on 28 October 2020, aged 76 from COVID-19. A small tribute was paid to Ball after the closing credits of the 2021 New Year's special of ''

'', which was the first episode broadcast after his death, before another tribute (a compilation of past scenes featuring his character) that was shown in the final episode of Series 11, which was the final episode recorded before his death.

Filmography

;Film ;Television

References

External links

Official websiteCannon and Ball official website
*
Bobby Ball
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{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 male voice actors English television personalities Male actors from Oldham English Christians AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England Comedians from Lancashire