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).

They hosted their own ITV 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, Heartbeat and Not Going Out. In 2005, Ball took part in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.

Ball was born at Boundary Park General Hospital in Oldham, Lancashire, on 28 January 1944,^[2] to May (née Savage) and Bob Harper.^[3][4] He attended Crompton House C of E school, Shaw, Oldham, and briefly studied Shipping Management at Wigan Mining & Technical College^[2] before going to work in a factory as a welder, where he also met his future partner in comedy, Thomas Derbyshire (Tommy Cannon).^[5]

Ball married his first wife, Joan Lynn, in 1964,^[22][23] 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,^[24] in 1974.^[25][26] 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 lived in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. Together they had a daughter Joanne born in 1972.^[27][28]

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, 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 [he snaps his fingers]."^[29] Shortly afterward Ball became a Christian,^[30] which helped re-kindle his broken friendship with Cannon.^[31] Cannon became a Christian in 1992, with the pair publishing a book called Christianity for Beginners.^[32] 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.^[33]

He published an autobiography, entitled My Life, in 1993.^[34]

He was a supporter of the Variety Children's Charity, presiding over the organization's ceremonies and appearing in fundraising events.^[35] He received a lifetime achievement honor from Variety, in 2018.^[36]

Ball died at the Victoria Hospital in Blackpool, on 28 October 2020, aged 76.^[1][37] A small tribute was paid to Ball after the closing credits of the 2021 New Year's special of Not Going Out, 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. ^[15]

Film

Television