From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv
And then there was one. :-(
Felicity Kendal is the last remaining member of the main cast from "The
Good Life" and none of the main "To the Manor Born" cast are still
alive.
Tributes paid to 'comic genius' Penelope Keith after her death aged 86
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Tributes have been paid to actress Dame Penelope Keith, best known for
her roles in the classic 1970s British sitcoms The Good Life and To the
Manor Born, following her death at the age of 86.
In a statement, her family said on Monday that she "died peacefully
whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey".
Felicity Kendal, her co-star in The Good Life, remembered her as a
"comic genius" who was "a joy to know and work with".
Dame Penelope famously played snobbish suburban neighbour Margo
Leadbetter in The Good Life, as well as the widowed aristocrat Audrey
fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born.
The statement released on behalf of her family said: "We are deeply
saddened to announce that Dame Penelope Keith died peacefully whilst
living with cancer at her home in Surrey where she had lived for more
than 50 years.
"The family is grateful for the care and support she received
throughout her treatments, and ask that their privacy be respected at
this time."
In her tribute, Kendal said: "I am deeply saddened to hear of my
friend Penelope's death.
"The shows I worked on with her were such special times in our lives
and demonstrated her comic genius.
"My heart goes out to her beloved Rodney at this time, theirs was a
great love story and partnership. She was a joy to know and work with,
and she will be much missed."
Others paying tribute included comedian and presenter Sue Perkins, who
praised her on Instagram for having been the "creator of some of the
greatest sit com characters of all time".
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth remembered Dame Penelope as "such a special
lady - a wonderful actress, a real friend, so funny, so generous with
the time she gave to good causes". He added: "Hers was indeed a good
life."
Former culture secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt posted: "Incredibly sad to
hear of the passing of Dame Penelope Keith CBE. She was a neighbour and
friend where she was dearly loved by all who knew her in Milford.
"She helped Britain laugh at itself, one of our best national
qualities, and brought happiness to millions. RIP dear Penny."
'Utter genius'
Also paying tribute, novelist Lissa Evans noted the marked difference
between Dame Penelope's characters and her real personality.
"Margo Leadbetter was snobbish, humourless and entitled, and Penelope
Keith managed to make her into one of the most adored (and oddly
vulnerable) characters ever seen on a sitcom," Evans posted.
"She delivered every line as if it were a jewelled crown on a velvet
cushion. An utter genius."
Dame Janet Suzman worked with Dame Penelope at the Royal Shakespeare
Company when they were both young, and later on the 1981 film Priest of
Love.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One, she said her friend and
colleague became "like a comedy Mount Rushmore" and was "enormous fun
to work with".
"Those ice pick consonants of hers, that tremendous self-assurance in
her character. It's just so transporting... Wonderful actress."
The Surrey-born actress joined the Royal Shakespeare company in 1963
and went on to win an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1976,
for her role in the play Donkey's Years.
But she became a household name playing Margo in The Good Life from
1975, winning the Bafta TV award for best light entertainment
performance in 1977.
The show followed Tom and Barbara Good, played by Richard Briers and
Felicity Kendal, in their attempts to become self-sufficient by turning
their suburban garden into an allotment and keeping animals - much to
Margo's horror.
The show was voted one of the UK's top 10 sitcoms of all-time in a 2004
BBC poll.
The actress followed that by playing aristocrat Audrey, who was forced
to sell her country estate following the death of her husband in To the
Manor Born.
The last episode of the first series in 1979 received almost 24 million
viewers - the highest audience for any non-live event on British TV in
the 70s.
Dame Penelope won another Bafta TV award soon after, this time for best
actress for The Norman Conquests and Saving It For Albie.
Her other sitcom credits in the 1980s and 90s included Executive Stress,
set in a publishing house; No Job for a Lady, playing a Labour MP;
Moving, about a couple selling their house; Law and Disorder, in which
she played a barrister; and Next of Kin, which saw children move in with
their grandparents.
The much-loved actress succeeded Laurence Olivier as president of the
Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989.
This century, working largely in theatre, she played Madame Arcati in a
2004 production of Blithe Spirit and Lady Bracknell in a 2007 version of
The Importance of Being Earnest.
The actress was a made a dame in 2014 for services to the arts and
charity.
London's West End theatres will dim their lights in her memory on
Wednesday.
Claire Walker, co-chief executive of the Society of London Theatre and
UK Theatre, said: "We are proud to come together as an industry and
honour the life and extraordinarily prolific career of Dame Penelope
Keith, who will undoubtedly be remembered for many years to come as one
of this country's most venerated actors.
"We offer condolences to her loved ones and all who knew her."
A "classic episode" of The Good Life will be shown on BBC Two at
19:00 BST on Monday in tribute, the BBC said.
The BBC's director of comedy Jon Petrie described Dame Penelope as "one
of the defining figures of British television comedy".
"Her iconic performance as Margo in The Good Life remains one of the
nation's most beloved sitcom roles and continues to delight audiences
today," he said.
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