# i know a fat old policeman # he's always on our street...# barry cryer, a mainstay of radio's i'm sorry i haven't a clue, but that was only the beginning. what a lovely audience! morecambe and wise... never mind, they'll do. kenny everett, les dawson, frankie howard, the two ronnies — he wrote for them all, and on radio 4, a 50 year comedy partnership with graeme garden. he was very convivial, very funny, loved telling jokes. and he loved to laugh, and he loved the sound of laughter. born in leeds, he'd started out in stand—up at the city varieties, but he was primarily a writer, working with everyone from danny la rue, jack benny and bob hope to the satire of rory bremner. i was very lucky when i started the bbc in �*87, they said "oh, barry cryer is going to write for you." that's incredible, because he'd written, as you said, morcambe and wise and two ronnies, but he wrote satirical sketches for us as well. he just had such a variety and a versatility. in the �*60s, the comedy writer occasionally appeared on the screen, here pouring the wine in the famous