LONDON (AP) 鈥� Penelope Keith, a comic performer who shone as flinty but loveable upper-crust characters in British sitcoms 鈥淭he Good Life鈥� and 鈥淭o the Manor Born,鈥� has died aged 86.
Keith鈥檚 family said Monday that she had been diagnosed with cancer and died at her home in Surrey, near London.
Keith began her acting career onstage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963. But she found her greatest fame on television.
She won a in 1977 for 鈥淭he Good Life,鈥� playing Margo Leadbetter, a snobbish suburbanite appalled by her back-to-the-land neighbors Tom and Barbara Good, played by Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal.
Kendal called Keith a 鈥渃omic genius.鈥�
鈥淪he was a joy to know and work with, and she will be much missed,鈥� Kendal said.
Keith displayed a similar mix of imperiousness and deadpan wit in 鈥淭o the Manor Born,鈥� broadcast between 1979 and 1981 and brought back for a 2007 Christmas special. Keith played cash-strapped aristocratic widow Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, forced to sell her country estate to a nouveau millionaire, played by Peter Bowles, with whom she has a love-hate relationship.
Keith’s velvet tones featured on children鈥檚 show 鈥淭eletubbies鈥� and in ads for everything from Pimm鈥檚 to Parker Pens. She also presented cozy documentary TV series, including 鈥淧enelope Keith鈥檚 Hidden Villages.鈥�
Keith continued to perform in stage roles into her 80s. Theaters in London鈥檚 West End will dim their lights on Wednesday evening in tribute to her.
In 2014 she was made a dame, the female equivalent of a knight, for services to the arts and to charity.
She is survived by her husband, Rodney Timson, and their two adopted sons.
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