Ronnie Barker, who became one of the country's most popular entertainers through appearances in The Two Ronnies, Open All Hours and Porridge, has died aged 76 after a long period of heart trouble. He was described by Ronnie Corbett, his co-star, yesterday as "pure gold in triplicate - as a performer, a writer and a friend". "We worked together since 1965," Corbett added, "and we never had a cross word. It was 40 years of harmonious joy, nothing but an absolute pleasure. I will miss him terribly." The comedian, writer and comic actor was remembered as a shy and private man who had made Britain laugh for so long that his death at 76 would leave the nation feeling it had lost an old and treasured friend.

He was a genius of timing, but a reluctant star who hated the limelight, preferring to immerse himself in his comic creations. After a lifetime starring in The Two Ronnies, as Fletcher in Porridge, and Arkwright in Open All Hours, his "legacy", according to his friend and co-star David Jason last night, would be "the greatest gift a man can leave, the gift of laughter".

In Oxfordshire, his neighbours spoke of a comedian in retirement, careering around the Cotswolds in a battered old Volvo and shunning the luxury life of many of his lesser contemporaries. Barker died on the 3rd October 2005 in a hospice with his wife Joy, 72, at his side, after a long period of heart trouble. They had been together since 1957 when, as he once recalled, she was "bending over picking up a stage prop" at the Cambridge Arts Theatre, and, when he saw "her face, it was really love at first sight". He remained close to many of his colleagues from his early days in rep, where he earned a reputation for brilliant comic timing and clever word play.

June Whitfield, who performed with him in his early career, said: "I starred alongside Ronnie in many shows before he really became famous. Even then, you knew he was special, and it showed because the people loved him."

After he became a household name, Barker was concerned that his work should be judged against that of his colleagues, rather than put on television simply because he was a star. Barry Cryer recalled that Barker sent in scripts under an assumed name, anxious that they be treated in the same way as other contributions. "He was the mysterious Gerald Riley, his alter ego," he said, "and you could never track down his specific style. It was like an Agatha Christie thriller. We thought, 'Who is this man?' We accused each other. Finally, in a Chinese restaurant he stood up and announced, 'It is me.' We told him to sit down, and not to be so silly."

The two Ronnies had originally worked as a threesome with John Cleese on The Frost Report. Cleese recalled Barker as "a warm, friendly and encouraging presence to have when I started in television". He was "a great comic actor to learn from". The Two Ronnies ran for 98 episodes and Barker's fame soared as he starred in other shows. A 1984 repeat of Porridge, in which he celebrated Christmas in Slade prison, was watched by 19,350,000 viewers.

Barker took great delight in word play and spoonerisms and was always looking out for situations and turns of phrase that he could use in his comic creations. The shopkeeper whose father inspired Open All Hours, Brian Meecham, 71, recalled Barker coming into his store in Crewkerne, Somerset. "Ronnie had a holiday cottage just down the road in Beaminster. I vividly remember him regularly coming into the shop for boiled sweets - bull's eyes, if I remember rightly.

"When Open All Hours started in the 1970s we were absolutely flabbergasted - it was our shop. Arkwright bore so much resemblance to my father it was uncanny. His manner was much the same - direct and no nonsense but with a heart of gold. The only difference was my father didn't have a stutter." The comedian Ken Dodd dubbed Barker the "maestro of TV". He said: "Of all the great comedians, he was the best, so good at everything, and always lovely, very well mannered." Eric Sykes said: "Everything he did had a very evocative ring, of something great. Not only that, he kept it all to himself." Bernard Manning said: "They will still be playing Ronnie Barker's sketches in 100 years' time. He came from the golden era of comedy - he understood what it was all about, which is extremely rare. Most comics today are rubbish but Ronnie had superb timing and knew exactly how to make his audience respond."

When Barker retired from television in 1987 he set up an antiques business with a shop in the Oxfordshire town of Chipping Norton. Joyce Hinchliffe, who worked at the shop for 15 years, said: "I love collecting bits and pieces and I would go into his shop and look at things I couldn't afford. "I would put 10 per cent down and then go back each week with another 10 per cent. I would never take anything home until I had paid for it in full. It used to amuse Ronnie. We used to chat and he knew that I did a bit of cleaning work. So he asked me if I would come and clean for him and Joy at the shop. I stayed with them until the day they retired."

The Barkers lived for 20 years at an old mill near Chipping Norton, on the edge of the Cotswolds. Few local people knew that he had been ill. He was not a regular at any local pub and, although often seen around, people soon got to know that he preferred to be left alone. "There was nothing grand about him," said Mary Lyden, sub postmistress at Chadlington, the nearest village. "He was very pleasant and he had no side to him. He had just one paper delivered every day, The Daily Telegraph." Joyce Hinchliffe said: "He never really talked about the showbusiness side of things. Ronnie was never flashy. He was always smart but he did not go in for designer clothes or brash ties. He was just a very lovely man and we will miss him."