Bobby Ball

This article is about the English comedian. For the American racing driver, see Bobby Ball (racing driver).

Bobby Ball
Bobby Ball in 2013
Born	Robert Harper (1944-01-28)28 January 1944 Oldham, Lancashire, England
Died	28 October 2020(2020-10-28) (aged 76) Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Occupation(s)	Comedian, actor, singer
Years active	1963–2020
Spouse(s)	Joan Lynn ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1970)​ Yvonne Nugent ​ ​ (m. 1974)​
Children	3

Robert Harper (28 January 1944 – 28 October 2020), known professionally as Bobby Ball, was an English comedian, actor and singer. He was best known as one half of the double act Cannon and Ball, with Tommy Cannon. They hosted their own ITV show, The Cannon and Ball Show, for nine years between 1979 and 1988. Ball then went on to star in various sitcoms and dramas including Last of the Summer Wine, Heartbeat and Not Going Out. In 2005, Ball took part in the fifth series of 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 High Crompton Secondary, 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, Thomas Derbyshire (Tommy Cannon).

Career

Cannon and Ball

Main article: Cannon and Ball

Ball was one half of comedy duo Cannon and Ball, opposite his friend and colleague Tommy Cannon. The duo's primetime Saturday night television series The Cannon and Ball Show, was one of LWT'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 slapstick film, Mr H Is Late, in 1988. Other notable guest appearances were The Kenny Everett Television Show 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.

Television

Ball was the creator of the BBC 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 2005–2006. From 2005–2008, he played Lenny in the BBC series Last of the Summer Wine. In 2009, Ball starred in the comedy The Fattest Man in Britain playing Morris Morrissey.

In 2009, Ball was cast as Frank in the long-running BBC One Sitcom Not Going Out. 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.

From 2011, Ball played Barry in the Sky1 sitcom series Mount Pleasant. The following year, he took part in BBC One's Pointless Celebrities alongside Cannon. His second appearance on the show was for a Children in Need special in November 2013 with Lee Mack.

In 2013, Ball played the role of Duckers in the ITV sitcom pilot The Security Men, starring alongside the likes of Brendan O'Carroll and Paddy McGuinness. The episode, written by Caroline Aherne and Jeff Pope, 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 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 'glen'. Ball and Lynn separated in 1970. Ball married his second wife, Yvonne Nugent, in 1974 (although some reports say 1971). In an interview on BBC Tees on 28 June 2016, Ball said that he met Yvonne while performing with Cannon at a club in Norton, County Durham: "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 live in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire.

Ball became a born-again Christian in 1986, as did Cannon in 1992, with their conversion having a lot to do with the re-kindling of their broken friendship. Together, they published a book called Christianity for Beginners. They regularly featured in their own gospel and "An audience with..." show in churches around the country.

Ball died on 28 October 2020 after testing positive for Covid-19 [COVID-19].

Filmography

Ball appeared in the following television shows and films:

Television

Year	Show	Role
1979–1988	The Cannon and Ball Show	Himself (co-star)
1980	Summer Royal	Himself
1982	The Kenny Everett Show	Himself (guest)
1991	Plaza Patrol	Trevor Purvis
1996	Shooting Stars	Himself (guest)
2001	Rex the Runt	Wayne the Zebra
2004	Revolver	Various characters
	The Royal	John Wilson
2005	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	Himself (contestant)
2005–2008	Last of the Summer Wine	Lenny
2005–2006	Heartbeat	Mr. Turner/Topsy Turner
2007	The Afternoon Play	Bingo Manager
2009	The Fattest Man in Britain	Morris Morrissey
2009–	Not Going Out	Frank
2010	All Star Mr & Mrs	Himself (contestant)
2011	Show Me the Funny	Himself (guest judge)
2011–2017	Mount Pleasant	Barry
2012	Coach Trip	Himself (guest)
	Casualty	Gerry Davies
	Strictly Come Dancing: Christmas Special	Himself (contestant)
2013	The Security Men	Duckers
2018	Last Laugh in Vegas	Himself
2018	Benidorm	Ron Pickford
2019	The Cockfields	Ray

Film

Year	Show	Role
1982	The Boys in Blue	PC. Bobby Ball
1988	Mr H Is Late	Driver's mate

External links

• Official Website
• Cannon and Ball Official Website
• Bobby Ball at IMDb
• Bobby Ball at British Comedy Guide