‘The Good Life’ actor Dame Penelope Keith dead at 86
Dame Penelope Keith, the star of beloved British sitcom The Good Life, has died aged 86.
The actor was known for her roles in TV shows throughout the 1970s, including The Good Life and To The Manor Born, the latter of which earned her a Bafta in 1977.
Keith’s family announced the sad news of her passing on June 29th, saying, “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.”
They added: “The family is grateful for the care and support she received throughout her treatments, and ask that their privacy be respected at this time.”
Keith was best-known for playing the posh and snobbish neighbour, Margo Leadbetter, in The Good Life, which ran from 1975 until 1978 on the BBC, charting the midlife crisis of the main character Tom Good, as well as his wife, Barbara.
The hit sitcom marked the height of Keith’s television career and fame as an actor, with her going on to star as the lead role of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To The Manor Born from 1979 until 1981.
Afterwards, the actor went on to star in a number of other similar sitcoms, before then predominantly steering her career back into the theatre realm, where she had first started out.
With a theatre career spanning from 1959 until 2020, Keith enjoyed an extensive relationship as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and took on countless roles in London’s West End over the years.
Most recently, she fronted a Channel 4 TV series called Saving Country Houses, which was broadcast at the beginning of this year as Keith’s final on-screen appearance.
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