The Two Ronnies: Dr Death

The Two Ronnies
Series Five (1976)
The first sketch of, in my eyes, The Two Ronnies' finest series.
I do not own the contents of this video. No copyright infringement intended.

[@johannaholmgren8088]

Have loved the Two Ronnies for YEARS. SO excellent together. Their routines are so witty.

[@greasylimpet3323]

And Ronnie Barker was fantastic in Open All Hours - ee oop lad - fetch a cloth!

[@mzytryck]

"There were complications you see... Well he died, that was one of the complications." His cheerful, matter-of-fact delivery of that line was perfect.

[@robvoyage2024]

This is how comedy is done!! Excellent from start to finish.

[@johnmelling9950]

So simple and harmless yet such genius in the wording and timing.

[@goigus]

One of the best sketches ever. Just love how it picks up the pace towards the end

[@edwalsh6883]

Paw patrol

[@commentfreely5443]

you will see me soon, that's the broom cupboard.

[@marcellepesek3038]

These two chaps are just superb! No matter how often I watch them, I love them and their wonderful talents! Lucky for us, these shows were taped! RIP, dear ones, and thank you for all the great times you gave us.

[@dr.leemcalister513]

The Dr Death seems oblivious to everything dying around him. I do miss the Two Ronnies, but nothing can last forever.

[@cBearTV-]

RIP chaps, your work will bring laughter to many for many years to come. ✝️

[@larissakravcova8626]

Great British Comedies! I agree 100%!💐 But, with the other part, I disagree because many younger generations Never seen these comedies, they more interested in how to get ££££ and Nothing else, sadly...👈😪

[@jasonayres]

In Australia, we really did have a politician in charge of the Health department, named Dr. Blewitt.

[@ianmontgomery7213]

When i worked in Victoria Barracks in 1974 the Army doctor was a Dr Death.

[@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc]

Knew a shrink by the name of Brain, and a pathologist named Blood! Auto suggestion in choice of profession ? I wonder

[@Shanzha23]

one of my doctors was called Dr Stiff

[@junewebb-baptiste2409]

I had surgery in the UK many years ago. The surgeon was named Mr Savage. Hes was wonderful

[@BadgerBotherer1]

Reading Football Club once had a goalkeeper called Steve Death. He's dead.

[@sirdigbyminge1639]

Mr Barker's timing was deadly.

[@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw]

Have you seen Peter Sellers as Dr Pratt in "The Wrong Box" ?

[@resnonverba137]

Brilliant! Another sketch I'd not seen before.

[@johnking5174]

A lovely bit of ad libbing between the two Ronnies here, when Ronnie B accidentally knocks over the name on the desk at 1:00 - typical of Ronnie C to think of an ad lib like this, and I love Ronnie B reaction and reply.

[@jamesgirdller2842]

This is comedy gold, how many jokes can you fit in one sketch! That ad-libed section was amazing. "Dead on time as usual" superb! Wish I was around in this era, though the joys of youtube have helped, more views people this is real comedy.

[@MaskedMan66]

Ad libbed? It was in the script.

[@jourwalis-8875]

How do you know? Have you worked with The Two Ronnies?

[@commentfreely5443]

i think the fish drowned too

[@MaskedMan66]

@@jourwalis-8875 I don't need to have; the bird fell out of the clock on purpose, and the line was in response to it.

[@andrewcarson5850]

@@MaskedMan66 The name-dropper bit was ad-libbed, I think.

[@dishybear]

Pure Gold. Sadly they will never make them like this again.😢

[@tansleypotts9486]

👍 No they won't comedy today if you can call it comedy is boring

[@eugenberzani1216]

yes, because you are sitting on youtube instead of doing humor : D

[@JohnFraser-n3k]

On the day that Henry Kissinger died. The original Dr Death.

[@user-gl2eq2ly4g]

Jokes just keep coming ...... One of the best skits ever

[@bazcuda]

I used to live in Ruislip Gardens at about the time these two were on TV . I never realised it had got a mention on The Two Ronnies 😀

[@TheMightsparrow]

Never again will we see the likes of them........ Rest in peace you giants of Comedy

[@rinsedpie]

Awwww why cant we have these sort of things on telly anymore. I recall sketches like these in the late 80s and early 90s. Good times!!

[@peternagy-im4be]

I stopped watching television over 10 years ago. Mind numbing garbage.

[@rinsedpie]

@@peternagy-im4be ha ha actually same with me here.. actually i stopped many longer than this. very little quality now; i dont know how reality TV like Big Brothers can be conisdered as entertainment

[@moirawatson-pickering7228]

Thanks for sharing! Pure gold. 🙂

[@ChadQuick270W]

“Hello, Death speaking” ha ha!! I love it. Haven’t seen this one before. More priceless comedy from the Two Ronnie’s 👍

[@ИКАГРИН-ф2з]

Excellent bit of comedy! What a pleasure to watch it ❤Thanks for uploading this masterpiece 👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻

[@petermallia558]

"Name dropper" a brilliant piece of fast thinking improvisation there, improvised right up to when Ronnie Barker says "Three drops a day in your ear" during performing in front of a live Audience and left in after filming and editing. You can tell it's improvised because he gives everyone a clue by saying, "Name dropper, I'll write that down", because it was good Ans something to maybe use in another sketch.

[@ElvarMasson]

"Fast thinking improvisation" ? Was there no script at that time ?

[@gaggymott9159]

It was a superb piece of ad libing, and picked up by Corbett like only a partner could! I'm so glad they kept it in 👍

[@Strontyum]

So when Barker spontaneously laughed, was that in character, or a rare glimpse of the real Barker?

[@jjakiefte2165]

@@Strontyum l think you're barking up the wrong tree....

[@quizmaster85]

There was a book of _Two Ronnies_ sketches which confirms this (although the book erroneously referred to that ad-lib as "Must treat for name dropping").

[@MariaLacsamana-ik3in]

This sketch makes me so joyful really hilarious indeed I miss the 2 Ronnie's!!!!😅😅😅😅😅

[@niebieskiptak4523]

They are fantastic! 😂😂😂 Will dig up a few friends 😂😂😂😂

[@janeclarkson8471]

How on earth are there thumbs down disliking this. Someone without humour I’m sure. Fantastic clever and very funny sketches. We all meet these characters in life! How I miss their shows and humour. What a legacy 🤣🤣🤣🤪🤓😬🙃 ❤️❤️❤️

[@peternagy-im4be]

Just more of today's humourless little babies.

[@RPKGameVids]

I think TTR's are great, but not everyone is going to like the same things that you like. Everyone is different, people have different tastes and opinions.

[@charlesachurch7265]

This is the acme of this comedy duos performances. It's a shame such simple humour is so rare nowadays.

[@colinhoward74]

This is one gag they were dying to tell !

[@danielsimon8754]

One of the all time great sketches. Better I think than the 4 candles sketch.

[@EditorOfSL]

When Ronnie Corbett comes in, he is literally at Death’s door! 😂

[@robertomonanni801]

LOL, the watering plant thing made me laugh so loud! :D

[@paulwhitlock4443]

Very clever with words & how they used them, Ronnie Barker always did it for me tho, so witty. Thanks for uploading this.

[@edgarporter9333]

Paul Whitlock gg

[@GudieveNing]

Dead on time. Priceless!!

[@johannaholmgren8088]

"Name-dropping"...😂😂😂😂😂

[@ninarizzo7312]

They are always so funny. Love them to bits❤❤❤❤❤❤😊👍🥇🏆🤗💯👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@RS250Squid]

"Well it's high pressure I was going!" I love it!

[@karanfield4229]

😂😂😂😂😂💦

[@GrezH]

I remembered that from first seeing this in the 1970s. Classic line delivered in true Ronnie Corbett style.

[@PhilJonesIII]

'Are single or buried?' love it.

[@rorymckernan8594]

ha ha. "Cuckoo, dead on time". "plenty of time to kill" 😂

[@jaym6501]

I love classical British comedy. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@hemipemi]

"I'll see you soon" "Yes you will see me soon that's the broom cupboard" LOL

[@MoskHotel]

“I’ll see myself out. No need to come down!” “No, I won’t. That’s the laundry chute.”

[@midnightteapot5633]

As a boy I went to a Dentist called Dr Payne for many years , never struck me at the time

[@Shanzha23]

one of my doctors was called Dr Stiff

[@jasonmcdaniel345]

But he struck you afterwards?

[@midnightteapot5633]

@@jasonmcdaniel345 only with the bill !

[@halesrubie8604]

Note to self : Don't watch while drinking water 😊

[@landyman97]

Much as I liked Benny Hill, Tommy Cooper and others....The two ronnies was another level, fantastic!

[@sameyers2670]

There were complications, he died. Classic.

[@GudieveNing]

Like COVID.

[@GARYBLONDER]

Four Candles is great but this sketch is my fave - has me howling with laughter every time! : D

[@hemipemi]

Four Candles was one of those sketches like the Only Fools & Horses classics (falling through the bar and the chandelier scene): If you've never seen it before it's absolutely side-splittingly funny, but once you know what's coming, not so much so.

[@richardturner4848]

Ice cream shop is my favourite and it's not on youtube, I only have the memory. Barker showed his unbelievable talent in that sketch, wish it was up.

[@lindsayheywood7195]

@@richardturner4848 ice cream shop now on KZbin. I just watched it this morning.

[@reevethomas1083]

The clock and the cupboard/chute killed me. Absolu..............

[@JohnnyKray]

I hated these two when I was younger, but now I'm enjoying watching these old clips 😄

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

"Are you single or buried?"

[@jaswerner419]

What a great sketch 😂

[@TheConorsmithusa]

the cuckoo bird dying had me dying 😆

[@AnneRoberts-m3v]

They were the best comedy duo ever

[@peternagy-im4be]

Hale and Pace? No? Thought not...

[@LiveInSydney]

So well written

[@gardenlover9663]

Never trust a doctor with a shovel in his office.

[@philjamieson5572]

I bet they would have been a superb live act.

[@MM0SDK]

I wonder if Harold Shipman watched this, i can only imagine what he must have been thinking.

[@RenaissanceEarCandy]

Eerily, they did mention someone called Grundy who died of an ingrowing toenail. Which was also the name of one of Shipman's victims.

[@briandavid6879]

'Come back here Mr Billet, plenty of time to kill...'

[@oddjob7821]

Totally unbelievable. How did he manage to get an appointment to see a doctor?

[@gdok6088]

😂

[@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER]

Even more unbelievable, how did he get an appointment with one of the few with English as his native tongue?

[@BlackTortoiseOfTheNorth]

This particular doctor is registering new patients.😱

[@andrewmorrice9139]

There were a few last minute cancellations.

[@jaswerner419]

I can dig up a couple of friends

[@aranerem5569]

I could dig up a couple of friends and bring them along

[@chickedee1085]

Good clean comedy.

[@tedthesailor172]

Laughed out loud watching this.

[@jacksta84able]

Harold Shipman loved this sketch

[@FishingtonBurpPuzzle]

Incredible machine gunning comic timing.

[@darrellsimpson6966]

Stuck in bed with covid, yet laughing out loud. God it hurts.

[@clemstevenson]

Used car salesman was his previous occupation. There were no complaints about the faulty brakes, because dead people are unlikely to complain.

[@alancombo06]

Legends

[@dwaugh2215]

I'll see myself out. No need to come down! *opens the door and walks in*

[@jordanrowland6269]

Never seen that one before, brilliant! I was looking for one when Ronnie B is playing a computer doctor on a TV screen but I don’t think it’s been uploaded.

[@lanie-ok]

At the Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania was a Dr Death. He insisted it was pronounced Deeth!

[@Andrew.quigley]

God they were bloody good.

[@neveralonebytimhedges1840]

The last part got me laughing so much so I couldn’t stop when he went down the laundry chute ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[@rex-up9ln]

"Are you single or buried" lmfao

[@MAte925]

GOOD OLD FASHIONED COMEDY

[@JugglinJellyTake01]

Great resurrection.

[@DarkVoidIII]

"Does the cat always lie on it's back with it's paws in the air?" "Well, it's been doing that for the past 3 weeks!" 🤣😂🪦

[@josephilsley3028]

Mr. Tompkins's skeleton will be waiting for Ronnie Corbett at the bottom of that same laundry chute I presume.

[@innovativeinnovation6629]

To think that this actually really happened in real life. Dr. Harold Shipman---now he is the real Dr. Death

[@mgdwcb1]

I wonder if that "namedropping" segment was ad-libed? the name card falling on the floor seemed a genuine mistake.

[@quizmaster85]

Yes it was; a book featuring Two Ronnies sketches makes mention of that moment.

[@ratherryan]

Brendan Richards Was that really ad-libbed? If so, that was a perfect recovery.

[@davidgillettuk9638]

Definite adlib, you can tell by the way they looked at each other. Pure genius.

[@WilliamRoscoe]

This was the result of a BBC initiative for young comedy writers to submit their ideas for sketches in exchange for £25 if it was turned into an actual sketch. Well £100 quid in all but since it was me and three mates then we got £25 each. That was good money in those days for a 14 year old. We submitted about thirty sketches to the Beeb and four of them were made and broadcast. Barker and Corbett improved on our original script immeasurably but kept that line of mine about the barometer and my friends' lines about the causes of death. Happy days.

[@kokamoa]

According to the Two Ronnies book mentioned above, the sketch is credited to Garry Chambers. Maybe the BBC paid to use the sketch but got other writers to polish up a good idea.

[@KohaAlbert]

We had Dentist named Dr. Hell btw it means gentle in native language

[@MAte925]

Great escape from current worse world

[@moonmelder2965]

5:15 .... death by laundry chute! LOL

[@MaskedMan66]

One fish still survives!

[@kafeelnazar4691]

My god,he was doctor DE ATH after all.

[@briananthony4044]

I wonder if that was the laundry shute that killed off his other patient they're having a funeral for?

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Brilliant

[@pp-tx3bt]

brilliant

[@jrgboy]

When I worked at the MOD at the 60's there was a Dr Death, rhymed with Heath...

[@Triadii]

if he's still around, you should send him this.

[@henrybyrd5402]

surprised that they delivered the lines without "corpsing!"

[@HRKFUNNYMOMENTS]

How'd You Perish Lad? Laundry Chute. How'd You Meet Your End? Laundry Chute.

[@Wintro]

Awesome! :) A huge LOL! :D

[@glen458]

Ohh I’m pissing my pants laughing 😂😂

[@wrz5468]

Just a slip of the scalpel🤕😬

[@larissakravcova8626]

If I would have watched this comedy before I would Never visited Doctors, who are killing me for years and Now too!..

[@Woodland26]

We had a Dr Death (pronounced Deeth) who is a geriatric specialist.

[@HRKFUNNYMOMENTS]

Looks Like Death Won't Be Need'n His Scythe Anymore.

[@insanityrulestheday]

I've heard of the Midas touch, but Dr Death beats all :-)

[@balasmj]

Just a slip of the scalpel 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@PeterOHanlon-u5s]

I would walk in and go straight out the door good luck 🤞

[@eileenlocke7877]

Great . RIP r o n n I e s

[@jourwalis-8875]

"Dead on time"!!

[@pamelahackner7421]

Hilarious 😂

[@funkafize]

1:24 "kick the bucket"

[@WYIT0]

I missed that one! XD