Penelope Keith

Infobox actor


imagesize = 150px
name = Penelope Keith
birthdate = birth date and age|1940|4|2|df=yes
location = Sutton, Surrey, England
birthname = Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield
occupation = Actress
baftaawards = Best Light Entertainment Performance
1977 "The Good Life"
Best Television Actress
1978 "The Norman Conquests"
olivierawards = Best Comedy Performance
1976 "Donkey's Years"

Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL (born Penelope Hatfield on 2 April 1940) is an English actress well known in the United Kingdom for her television career.

Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom "The Good Life". This role earned Keith her first of two BAFTAs, the second being in 1978 for "The Norman Conquests". One year after "The Good Life"'s finale, Keith was the lead character in another BBC sitcom, "To the Manor Born", a show that received audiences of up to 24 million. During the 1980s and 1990s, she appeared in six other sitcoms, in each the lead character. Since the 1990s, Keith has appeared rarely on television and does more theatre work.

Early life

Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield was born in Sutton, Surrey in 1940.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6216985.stm|title=The Good Life of Penelope Keith|first=|last=|publisher=BBC|date=29 December 2006] Her father, who was a Major by the end of the war, left her mother Connie when she was a baby, and she spent her early years in Clacton-on-Sea and Clapham. Although not Catholic, at the age of six she was sent to a Catholic boarding school in Seaford, Sussex. It was here that a young Keith first became interested in acting, and she and mother would frequently go to matinees in the West End. When she was eight years old, her mother remarried and Penelope adopted her stepfather's surname of Keith. While she did not get on with her stepfather, her mother was a "rock of love" to her. [cite news|url=http://www.lady.co.uk/ed_showarticle.cfm?issue=/0150arta.cfm&relocated=yes|title=The Good Life of Penelope Keith|first=|last=|publisher=The Lady|date=2001] Keith was rejected from the Central School of Speech and Drama, on the grounds that, at 5'10", she was too tall.cite news|url=http://www.uktv.co.uk/?uktv=standarditem.index&aID=527853|title=UKTV Personalities|first=|last=|publisher=|date=] However, she was then accepted at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and spent two years there while working at the Hyde Park Hotel in the evening. [cite news|url=|title=A Celebration of The Good Life|first=|last=|publisher=Orion Books|date=2000]

Like many aspiring actors and actresses of the time, she started her career in working in rep across the UK, including Lincoln, Manchester and Salisbury. Keith's earliest appearances were in "The Tunnel of Love", "Gigi" and "Flowering Cherry". At the age of 23 in 1963, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company both in Stratford and at the Aldwych Theatre in London.

Early career

Keith started her television career in programmes such as "The Army Game", "Dixon of Dock Green", "Wild, Wild Women" and "The Avengers". In the early 1970s, she appeared in "The Morecambe & Wise Show", "Ghost Story" and "The Pallisers". Her film appearances during this time included "Every Home Should Have One", "Take A Girl Like You", "Rentadick" and "Penny Gold". In 1967, she had a minor role in "Carry On Doctor", but the scene appears to have been cut from the final edit. [cite news|url=http://www.carryonline.com/carryonline/reframe.html?http://www.carryonline.com/carryonline/carryondoctor.html|title=Carry On Online|first=|last=|publisher=|date=]

Her best known theatre appearance, in 1974, was playing Sarah in "The Norman Conquests", opposite her "The Good Life" co-star Richard Briers. Keith would often film "The Good Life" during the day and perform on stage in the West End in the evening. In 1978, the year "The Good Life" ended, she married Rodney Timson, a former policeman. They had met while he was on duty at Chichester Theatre where Keith was performing.cite news|url=|title=I'm Bossy Like Margo But Not Posh|first=|last=|publisher=Daily Express|date=30 December 2006] Timson, who is eight years her junior, had been married twice before. They adopted two children, who were brothers, in 1988.

Television fame

Penelope Keith became a household name in 1975 when the BBC sitcom "The Good Life" began. In the first episode she was only heard and not seen in her role as Margo Leadbetter, but as the episodes and series went on the scope of her role increased. In 1977, Keith won a BAFTA award for 'Best Comedy Performer' for her role of Margo Leadbetter. Following the success of "The Good Life", each of the four main stars were given their own programme, and from 1979 to 1981 she played Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in "To the Manor Born". Both characters shared similar characteristics, both being generally likeable, upper-class ladies.

Following "To the Manor Born", Keith has appeared in six other sitcoms as the main lead: "Sweet Sixteen", "Moving", "Executive Stress", "No Job for a Lady", "Law and Disorder" and "Next of Kin". She has also had roles in "The Spider's Web". Keith won a second BAFTA award as 'Best Actress' in 1978 for "The Norman Conquests". In 1988 she hosted one series of the ITV panel show "What's My Line?", following the death of its original presenter Eamonn Andrews.

Recent years

In recent years, Keith has regularly appeared on stage across the country, including a role in Noel Coward's "Star Quality" and in 2004 she played Madame Arcati in "Blithe Spirit" at the Savoy Theatre. In 2006, she appeared at the Chichester Festival in the premiere of Richard Everett’s comedy "Entertaining Angels", which she later took on tour. In 2007 she played the part of Lady Bracknell in "The Importance of Being Earnest" on tour, which transferred to the West End in 2008 at the Vaudeville Theatre. She has also done voice work, and has voiced many adverts including ones for Pimm's, Lurpak, Tesco and most famously, The Parker Pen Company, which was named one of the 100 Greatest Adverts in a Channel 4 programme. In 1997, she provided the voice of the narrator for "Teletubbies", and also starred in the radio adaptations of "To the Manor Born". In 2003, she appeared opposite June Brown in the TV drama "Margery and Gladys". In 2007, she starred in a one-off "To the Manor Born" Christmas Special.cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/23058/To-the-Manor-Reborn|title=To the Manor Reborn|first=Elisa|last=Roche|publisher=Daily Express|date=25 October 2007]

Keith and her husband Rodney Timson live in Milford, Surrey, and she has a great passion for gardening. In 1984, she had a rose named after her. [cite news|url=http://www.classicroses.co.uk/roses/p/penelope_keith.html|title=Classic Roses|first=|last=|publisher=|date=] cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/23272/Return-of-Lady-Penelope|title=Return of Lady Penelope|first=Simon|last=Edge|publisher=Daily Express|date=26 October 2007] Penelope Keith has been President of the Actors' Benevolent Fund since 1990, taking over after the death of Lord Olivier, and is president of the South West Surrey National Trust.cite news|url=|title=The tale of five gardens|first=|last=|publisher=National Trust magazine|date=Summer 2007] On 2 April 2002, she began a one-year term as High Sheriff of Surrey, [LondonGazette|issue=56531|notarchive=yes|startpage=4283|date=9 April 2002|accessdate=2007-11-30] being only the third woman to hold the post. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1990 New Year Honours, [LondonGazette|issue=51578|startpage=10|supp=yes|date=30 December 1989|accessdate=2008-04-17] and was promoted to a Commander (CBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours for "charitable services". [LondonGazette|issue=58196|notarchive=yes|startpage=8|supp=yes|date=30 December 2006|accessdate=2008-04-17] Keith is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey. [LondonGazette|issue=57207|notarchive=yes|startpage=1979|date=16 February 2004|accessdate=2008-04-17] [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/6218219.stm|title=Actress honoured for charity work |first=|last=|publisher=BBC|date=30 December 2006]

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0445285|name=Penelope Keith

Persondata
NAME= Keith, Penelope Anne Constance
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hatfield, Penelope Anne Constance
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress
DATE OF BIRTH= 2 April 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH= Sutton, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=