Ronalde grew up in a poor but supportive Islington home, and found a talent for singing, whistling and bird impressions from early childhood.
In these formative years, he entertained informally for pocket money, or with church and school choirs, developing his talents for stage performance.
Steffani was so taken with Ronalde's voice and whistling (he referred to him as "the Pink of Perfection"), that he disbanded the Silver Songsters (in 1947) and became his personal manager, mentor and chaperone.
Other songs include "Tritsch Tratsch Polka" (a showcase of Ronalde's high speed delivery whistling) and "Bells Across the Meadow" (by Albert Ketèlbey).
Across this decade Ronalde was a headliner, and broke box office records all over the world: he was a big name in the UK, US, Australasia, Scandinavia, Africa, South America and Europe.
Nonetheless, Ronalde did not abandon the entertainment industry: he maintained an engagement diary and summer seasons into his 80s, as well as TV appearances and radio broadcasts.
After bringing up three children, both he and Rosemarie moved to the Isle of Man in the late 1980s, then to Whistler's Lodge in New Zealand in the 1990s, to the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, and returned to the UK in the last years of his life.
His recording "Bird Song at Eventide" was featured in the hit TV series, and subsequent best-selling soundtrack, The Singing Detective in 1986.
His 1998 autobiography entitled Around the World on a Whistle drew extensively on memorabilia, theatre bills, photographs and clippings, and is a document of the published history of variety circuits.
Ronalde made an appearance at the Hackney Empire for a charity evening, The Golden Years of Variety, on Sunday 9 September 2012, when he received a standing ovation.
He suffered a stroke shortly after his 90th birthday in 2013, and subsequently moved into Brinsworth House, the retired entertainers' home in Twickenham, where he died.