Bobby Ball

Robert Harper (known professionally as Bobby Ball, 28 January 1944 - 28 October 2020) was an English actor and comedian, who was one half of the comedic duo Cannon and Ball, with Tommy Cannon.

Not Going Out
Since 2009, Ball had played Frank in the long-running BBC sitcom Not Going Out, he first made a guest appearance in the 2009 and two further guest appearances in series' 4 and 5, but since became a recurring fixture from series 6 onwards appearing in roughly three episodes per series, he also was a main character in the 2015 Christmas special. He returned alongside the cast for the eighth series in 2017, the ninth series in 2018 and the tenth series in 2019. His final epsidoe as Frank was on the 5th February 2021 in the Series 11 episode 'War.

In the episode Neighbour, Lucy (Sally Bretton) recalls the time when she and Tim (Tim Vine) went to see a show starring Cannon and Ball.

Other roles
Ball is most famous for his partnership with Tommy Cannon, and their variety show The Cannon and Ball Show between 1979 and 1988 on ITV. Ball has also appeared on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, and also had roles in Heartbeat and Last of the Summer Wine.

Ball passed away on 28 October 2020, after testing positive for COVID-19, at the age of 76 years old.