Eric Leslie Barker (born 12 February 1912, Thornton Heath, died 1 June 1990, Faversham) was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British Carry On films.
Eric Barker first appeared in films as a child actor, including in 1916 with an early production of Tom Brown's Schooldays playing the role of the sickly Arthur.
He later became one of the most familiar faces in British comedy in his day. Eric Barker gained his renewed start in show business during World War II, when he was part of the armed forces radio show Merry Go Round, which he helped to write. After the war the show continued, though renamed The Waterlogged Spa, with Barker and his wife, fellow actor Pearl Hackney. His "Steady Barker" catchphrase and verbal stumbling over words beginning with the letter 'h' became well known to audiences. The show's success led to Barker's starring in other radio shows, where he achieved a sizeable following due to his versatility at doing voices.
In the 1950s he moved into television and films. On television he wrote and appeared in his own show, The Eric Barker Half-Hour, a black-and-white comedy sketch show on the BBC. The cast included his wife, Nicholas Parsons and Deryck Guyler. It ran for three series (21 episodes) between 1951 and 1953, and was broadcast fortnightly on Wednesdays around 9.00pm. Such was his success that it led to him writing his own autobiography Steady Barker in 1956.
He had appeared as an adult in movies, including Carry on London a 45-minute crime short in 1937. It is ironic therefore that in 1958 he received a BAFTA as "Most Promising Newcomer" for his role as a barrister's clerk in the film Brothers in Law (1957). The award led to more film work over the next 20 years, including three St Trinians films, and four in the classic Carry On British comedy film series. He found his niche in playing variations on the busybody sticking his nose in everyone's business, or as some authority figure, Carry On Constable (1960) being a good example. Along with Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor he is the only actor in the Carry On films to appear in the first, Carry On Sergeant in 1958 and the last of the original series of Carry On films Carry On Emmannuelle in 1978.
He married actress Pearl Hackney (b. 1916-10-28) with whom he often worked, though she also had a comedy career of her own. They had a daughter Petronella in 1945, who also appeared in films and television between 1964 and 1983. This daughter married oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins in September 1967 and later divorced 1972. They had one child in 1967, Abigail Hopkins, who is a singer and actress.
In 1971 Eric Barker was the featured subject of the long-running British ITV television show This is Your Life.
