Jump to content

Felicity Kendal

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Felicity Kendal
CBE
Kendal in 2024
Born (1946-09-25) 25 September 1946 (age 78)
Olton, Warwickshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1947–present
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1968; div. 1979)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1983; div. 1990)​
Partner(s)Tom Stoppard (1991–1998)
Michael Rudman (1998; died. 2023)[1]
Children2, including Charley Henley
Parents
RelativesJennifer Kendal (sister)

Felicity Ann Kendal CBE (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television series The Good Life from 1975 to 1977. Kendal was born in Olton, England, but moved to India with her family from the age of seven. Her father was an English actor-manager who led his own repertory company on tours of India, and Kendal appeared in roles for the company both before and after leaving England. She appeared in the film Shakespeare Wallah (1965) which was inspired by her family.

Kendal made several television appearances, starting with Love Story in 1966, and made her London stage debut in Minor Murder (1967) at the Savoy Theatre. She was approached to appear in The Good Life while appearing in The Norman Conquests, and appeared in all four series. She later went on to star in the sitcoms Solo (1981–82) and The Mistress (1985 and 1987) which were scripted by Carla Lane. Later television work included The Camomile Lawn (1992), which as of 2022 it remained the most-watched drama ever on Channel 4. However, the poor reception to the 1994 sitcom Honey for Tea led Kendal to focus on stage rather than television work for some years. She co-starred with Pam Ferris on television in Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006) as one of pair of gardeners and detectives.

Her stage career blossomed during the 1980s and 1990s when she formed a close professional association with Tom Stoppard, starring in the first productions of many of his plays, including On the Razzle (1981), The Real Thing (1982), Hapgood (1988), and Arcadia (1993). She also appeared in ten plays directed Peter Hall, from portraying Constanze Mozart in Amadeus (1979) to Esme in Amy's View (2006). She took her first role in a musical as Evangeline Harcourt in the 2021 London revival of Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre. In 2023, she starred as Dotty Otley in Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre and the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Many of her stage performances have been critically acclaimed. Kendal was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 New Year Honours for services to drama.

Early life

[edit]

Felicity Ann Kendal was born in Olton, Warwickshire, England, in 1946.[2][3] She is the younger daughter of Laura Liddell and actor and manager Geoffrey Kendal.[4] Her older sister, Jennifer Kendal, was also an actress.[5]

After early years in Birmingham, Kendal lived in India with her family from the age of seven: her father was an English actor-manager who led his own repertory company on tours of India.[4] The ensemble would perform plays from a repertoire including Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan to audiences that included schoolchildren, nuns, British expatriates, and royalty.[6][7] As the family travelled, Kendal attended six different Loreto College convent schools in India,[8] until the age of 13.[9] She contracted typhoid fever in Calcutta at the age of 17.[10]

Kendal made her stage debut for her family's company aged nine months, when she was carried on stage as the changeling boy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.[2][3] Five years later she was the Changeling in the same play, and aged nine she was Macduff's son in a production of Macbeth.[7] Her first speaking role was as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream when she was 12.[7]

Kendal's family and their touring theatre company were the inspiration for the Merchant Ivory Productions film Shakespeare Wallah (1965), which follows the story of nomadic British actors as they perform Shakespeare plays in towns in post-colonial India.[5] She played Lizzie Buckingham, the daughter of the company's actor-managers, who falls in love with the son of film star Manjula, portrayed by Madhur Jaffrey.[4] Lizzie's parents face a dilemma between their deep-seated theatrical ambitions and their fears for the welfare of their daughter.[4] The Observer film critic Kenneth Tynan wrote a positive review of the film, and considered that the role of the daughter was "fetchingly played by the dumpling-faced Felicity Kendal".[11] Patrick Gibbs of The Daily Telegraph named Kendal as his actress of the year,[12] and said that, that based on her portrayal of Ophelia in an extract from Hamlet within the film, her performance of that role would "rank with any that [he had] seen".[13]

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph journalist Jasper Rees in 2006, Kendal said that her time in India was "sometimes very hard, sometimes very poor, sometimes ghastly, ghastly, ghastly in all sorts of ways", she did not regret it, and that it was an "amazing way of living".[9] She also felt that it prepared her for a career in theatre as she did not have any established expectations about how things should be.[9] Aged 17, she moved to England, initially living with her aunt.[14]

Early television work

[edit]

Kendal appeared in two episodes of Love Story in 1966, and as a teenage hippie in "The May Fly and the Frog", an episode of The Wednesday Play which starred John Gielgud, the same year.[3][15][14] Her other early TV roles included parts in Man in a Suitcase (1967),[3][16] The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1968–69), The Woodlanders (1970) and Jason King (1972).[3]

In 1975, she appeared as Princess Vicky in Edward the Seventh.[17] In his article about Kendal for the Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television, David Pickering wrote that in the early years of Kendal's television career, "Producers liked her girlish good looks and bubbly confidence and audiences also quickly warmed to her."[18]

The Good Life

[edit]
Main article: The Good Life

Kendal had her big break on television with the BBC sitcom The Good Life which started in 1975.[19][20] She and Richard Briers starred as Barbara and Tom Good, a middle-class suburban couple who decide to quit the rat race and become self-sufficient, much to the consternation of their snooty but well-meaning neighbour Margo (Penelope Keith) and her down-to-earth husband Jerry Leadbetter (Paul Eddington).[21][20] Kendal appeared in all 30 episodes, which extended over four series and two specials, until 1977.[22][20] BBC Head of Comedy Jimmy Gilbert, who had commissioned The Good Life as a showcase for Briers,[23] saw Kendal and Keith perform in the play The Norman Conquests and felt they would suit the roles of Barbara and Margo.[21] Briers approached Kendal in her dressing room and suggested that she read for the part.[24] Kendal later recounted that she was keen to get the part, both because she needed work and because she felt a rapport with Briers, who was already established, having appeared regularly in television shows since 1962.[25] The show's producer John Howard Davies also went to see the play, and Kendal and Keith were both given parts.[24] Eddington also had stage acting experience, and the show's co-writer Bob Larbey felt that having a cast of actors, rather than a comedian as a central figure, made writing episodes easier.[25] In her 1988 book White Cargo, Kendal reflected that the lead actors' stage experience and their attitude "to be actors first and stars second" was an important factor in the show's success.[26] She commented that from the beginning, "we slotted into a way of working together that was fun, fast and furious ... all extremely professional, ambitious and hard-working, and our dedication to the show was total."[27] She also felt that Larbey and his co-writer John Esmonde tailored the scripts so that they were for the "actors and characters combined".[28]

Although Barbara has her doubts about Tom's plans for self-sufficiency at first, she supports him emotionally and practically.[29][30] The cultural historian Mark Lewisohn commented that it was obvious that Barbara and Tom "enjoy a great marriage, being fully attuned to one another's needs and desires".[30] The British Film Institute's page about Kendal, written by Tise Vahimagi, argues that the four lead characters were relatable, "with Kendal standing out as the epitome of friendly suburban sexiness in her tight blue jeans".[31] On the Institute's page about The Good Life, Mark Duguid wrote that "Felicity Kendal's lively, sexy Barbara won her the adoration of millions of British men" in a very popular show that was a "gentle social satire of the suburban middle-class".[20] For Pickering, Kendal's "whimsical, puckish charm and endearingly good-humoured outlook made her ideal for the role".[18]

After a low-key start, the programme quickly became popular, attracting audiences of about 14 million for new episodes.[27][32] By the last episode, Esmonde and Larbey felt that the main storylines had come to a natural end, and decided not to write further episodes.[27] The last regular episode aired in May 1977 and was followed by a 1977 Christmas special.[33] The cast reunited for a 1978 Royal Command Performance.[27] It has often received repeated showings on the BBC, typically at prime viewing times, and the repeats typically attracted high audiences.[34]

The film and television studies scholars Frances Bonner and Jason Jacobs contended that although The Good Life was consistently a reference point across the coverage later careers of each of the lead actors, this was most pronounced in the case of Kendal.[32] Kendal has maintained that the character of Barbara Good is very dissimilar to her as a person.[32] In a 2010 interview, she said of her close association with the character that "[The Good Life] is always on some channel or another. I think it's rather nice. It's following me like a good fairy."[35] She added that while the other lead characters were like people that the viewers might know personally, Barbara "had all the ingredients – feisty, strong but adoring, up for anything, very funny – that people find attractive".[35]

Later television work

[edit]

Davies was so impressed by the performances from Kendal, Keith and Eddington that when he was Head of Comedy for the BBC, he gave them all starring roles in new series: Yes Minister for Eddington, To The Manor Born for Keith, and Solo (1981–82) for Kendal.[36] Carla Lane wrote Solo, in which Kendal played the lead role of Gemma Palmer, who decides to split from her boyfriend and live independently.[37][38] Lane also wrote The Mistress (1985 and 1987) in which Kendal portrayed a florist having an affair with a married man, played by Jack Galloway in 1985 and with a different character played by Peter McEnery in the 1987 version.[37][31] Both Solo and The Mistress were positively received,[37] although some viewers were disappointed by the lack of innocence displayed by Kendal's character in The Mistress compared to that of the Barbara Good character.[39] Bonner and Jacobs commented that "As Barbara, her sexiness was contained in the loving relationship with her husband, but her subsequent casting in the TV sitcoms Solo (1981–82) and The Mistress (1985–87) reveals even in their titles a making of her imaginatively available for the lustful viewer."[32] The media scholar Mary Irwin considers that Kendal has avoided being typecast in roles of "acquiescent girlfriend or supportive wife", and that in Solo and The Mistress she "cut through commonplace binaries situating sitcom women as either bimbos or battleaxes".[40]

The Camomile Lawn (1992) starred Kendal as Helena Cuthbertson, whose property encompassed a mansion and the lawn in the title.[41] Eddington played her husband Richard.[41] Attracting over seven million viewers, as of 2022 it remained the most-watched drama ever on Channel 4.[41] However the 1994 sitcom Honey for Tea starring Kendal was later described by Maureen Paton of the Daily Telegraph as "an unmitigated flop".[42] Her American accent in the show was mocked by TV critic and humourist Victor Lewis-Smith: "In a single phrase, she veered uncontrollably from the Bronx to South Africa via Surrey, like some linguistic Spruce Goose, awkwardly taking off only to crash-land again within moments."[43]

Having focused on her theatre rather than her television career for some years following the poor reception to Honey for Tea,[42] in 2003 Kendal co-starred with Pam Ferris in Rosemary & Thyme as a pair of gardeners and detectives.[44] Kendal's character Rosemary Boxer is a University of Malmesbury lecturer in applied horticulture.[45] The show was negatively reviewed, but still popular with viewers, becoming the most viewed new drama series on ITV1 in 2006.[44] Vahimagi wrote that despite "pleasantly skittish performances" from the leads, the show was a "peculiarly dispiriting addition to the list of British detective drama".[31]

Stage work

[edit]

Kendal auditioned unsuccessfully for Val May at the Bristol Old Vic in early 1966.[46] Some months later, she auditioned for Tynan and Laurence Olivier National Theatre season at the Old Vic, again without success.[46] She made her London stage debut in Minor Murder (1967) at the Savoy Theatre.[47][48] Kendall and Tessa Wyatt played two friends who murdered the mother of one of them, in a play inspired by the Parker–Hulme murder case.[48] She was cast as Amaryllis in the 1969 production of Back to Methuselah at the Old Vic.[14][49]

In 1972, actors Ian McKellen and Edward Petherbridge, after discussion with director David William, formed the Actors' Company, a collective group with members invited by them.[50] The actors would all receive equal pay and would rotate between leading and supporting roles, with posters listing their names in alphabetical order.[51] The founding members were Caroline Blakiston, Marian Diamond, Robert Eddison, Robin Ellis, Tenniel Evans, Kendal, Matthew Long, Margery Mason, McKellen, Frank Middlemass, Juan Moreno, Petherbridge, Moira Redmond, Sheila Reid, Jack Shepherd, Ronnie Stevens and John Tordoff.[52] As part of the company, Kendal played The Maid in Ruling the Roost, and Annabella in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at the 1972 Edinburgh International Festival.[53] Kendal had departed to look after her new baby by the time the group reconvened in mid-1973.[54]

Kendal won the Variety Club's Best Stage Actress Award for her performance as Marain in Michael Frayn's Clouds (1978) at the Duke of York's Theatre, London.[3][55]

In 1979 she was directed by Peter Hall for the first time, as Constanze Mozart in Amadeus.[9] She later recounted that her experience in the production "taught me to focus on the play rather than the role".[56] A recording with the original cast was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1983.[57] Her stage career blossomed during the 1980s and 1990s when she formed a close professional association with Tom Stoppard,[9] starring in the first productions of many of his plays, including On the Razzle (1981), The Real Thing (1982), Hapgood (1988), and Arcadia (1993).[58][59] The Stoppard scholar Paul Delaney wrote in 1990 that Kendal "first dazzled Stoppard audiences" in On the Razzle, and made Annie in The Real Thing a "poignant role".[60] He felt that in Hapgood, Kendall gave a "towering performance in the most complex role Stoppard has ever written for a woman."[60] In his 2002 biography of Stoppard, Ira Nadel remarked that "Hannah Jarvis in Arcadia is, perhaps, the quintessential Kendal role: energetic, inquisitive, strong and possessed with a touch of The Good Life's vibrant celebration of nature."[61]

Kendal and Stoppard started a romantic relationship that lasted for eight years from around November 1990.[59] His radio play In the Native State (1991) had a dedication "To Felicity Kendal", and, according to Delaney, it "seemed in some ways to be not only for and by but also about Kendal".[59] It was adapted for the stage as Indian Ink (1995) and both versions starred Kendal as Flora Crewe, a poet who moves to India and develops a friendship with an artist played by Art Malik who paints her portrait.[62] The Daily Telegraph critic Charles Spencer found Kendal's performance by turns "funny, mischievous" and "exceptionally touching".[62] Stoppard also made a new translation of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov specifically so that Kendal could play Madame Arkadina (1997).[63]

She won the Evening Standard Theatre Award in 1989 for her performances in Much Ado About Nothing and Ivanov.[64] Gerard van Werson of The Stage wrote that as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Kendal "delights ... with her remarkable charm and her beautiful comic timing".[65]

The critic Sheridan Morley felt that Kendal was "rapidly becoming out most expert player of classic farce" after seeing her in Mind Millie for Me, an adaptation of a Georges Feydeau farce at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London in 1996.[66] Later that year, Geoff Chapman of the Toronto Star described Kendal as "once a television sitcom star but now a huge West End draw in serious parts".[67]

Her 2003 performance as Winnie in Happy Days by Samuel Beckett was acclaimed by The Guardian's Michael Billington, who praised Kendal for bringing a "genuine emotional reality" to the role.[68] She starred as Esme in the West End revival of Amy's View (2006) by David Hare, which was her tenth collaboration with director Peter Hall.[9] Hall's "sensitive direction" allowed Kendall to "resoundingly [achieve] both Esme's barbed humour and her sadness" according to Heather Neil of The Stage.[69] She appeared in the West End as Florence Lancaster in Noël Coward's play The Vortex in 2008.[70] In Variety, David Benedict felt that "playing her as a woman who overacts strains Kendal's ability to reveal truthful emotion in the final act".[70]

In 2013, she starred in the first London revival of Relatively Speaking by Alan Ayckbourn at Wyndham's Theatre.[71] Later that year, she toured the UK with Simon Callow in Chin-Chin, an English translation by Willis Hall of Francois Billetdoux's Tchin-Tchin.[72] She toured the UK and Australia as Judith Bliss in Noël Coward's Hay Fever, which then played in the West End in 2015.[73][74]

She took her first role in a musical as Evangeline Harcourt in the 2021 London revival of Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre.[75][76] In 2023, Kendal starred as Dotty Otley in Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre and the Theatre Royal Haymarket.[77] The Daily Telegraph reviewer Marianka Swain felt that Kendal was "more brilliant than ever" in the role.[78]

Other work

[edit]

On the album Shape Up and Dance with Felicity Kendal (1982), Kendal narrated a keep-fit routine based around yoga and ballet.[61][79] It spent 13 weeks in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 29 in 1983,[80] and went on to sell over 200,000 copies.[61]

In 1995, Kendal was one of the readers of Edward Lear poems on a spoken-word CD bringing together a collection of Lear's nonsense songs.[81]

Personal life

[edit]

Kendal's first marriage to Drewe Henley (1968–1979) and her second to Michael Rudman (1983–1991) ended in divorce.[3][82] Kendal has two sons: Charley from her marriage to Henley and Jacob from her marriage to Rudman.[3] She reunited with Rudman in 1998,[1] and they remained partners until he died on 30 March 2023.[83]

Kendal was brought up in the Catholic faith. She converted to Judaism at the time of her second marriage, but has said about the conversion, "I felt I was returning to my roots."[84] Her conversion took more than three years; she has stated that her decision to convert had "nothing to do" with her husband.[85] Kendal's memoirs, titled White Cargo, were published in 1998.[6]

In 1981 Kendal was named Rear of the Year.[9] The award was created by publicist Anthony Edwards to promote specific brands of jeans by attracting media attention.[86] In 2001, she was included in a list of the "Top Ten TV Sex Bombs" in a Channel 4 programme.[42] When asked by The Guardian in 2010 whom she would invite to her "dream dinner party", Kendal replied "Emmeline Pankhurst, Gandhi, Byron, Eddie Izzard, George Bernard Shaw, Golda Meir and Marlene Dietrich."[10]

Kendal was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 New Year Honours for services to drama.[2][87] She is an ambassador for the charity Royal Voluntary Service, previously known as WRVS.[88]

Selected filmography

[edit]

Theatre

[edit]

Kendal's first two stage appearances were for her family's company, in England.[89] Having played a changeling boy in A Midsummer Night's Dream when she was nine months old, she was the Changeling in the same play five years later.[89] After the company returned to Asia, her roles included Macduff's son in Macbeth, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jessica in The Merchant of Venice, Ophelia in Hamlet, and Viola in Twelfth Night.[89][7]

Felicity Kendal stage performances
Year Title Role Venue Ref.
1967 Minor Murder Carla Savoy Theatre, London [47][48]
1968 Henry V Katherine Phoenix Theatre, Leicester [3]
1968 The Promise Lika Phoenix Theatre, Leicester [3]
1969 Back to Methuselah, Part II Amaryllis National Theatre Company, The Old Vic, London [49]
1970 A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London [3]
1970 Much Ado about Nothing Hero Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London [3]
1970 The Lord Byron Show Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London [3]
1970–71 Kean Anne Danby Oxford Playhouse/Globe Theatre, London [90]
1972 Ruling the Roost The Maid Billingham Forum Theatre/Edinburgh International Festival [91]
1972 'Tis Pity She's a Whore Annabella Edinburgh International Festival [92]
1972 The Three Arrows Cambridge Arts Theatre [3][93]
1972 Romeo and Juliet Juliet Oxford Playhouse [3]
1973 Friends, Romans and Lovers Alison Ames Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford [94]
1974 The Norman Conquests Annie Greenwich Theatre/Globe Theatre, London [3]
1976 Once Upon a Time Vitoshka Little Theatre, Bristol [3]
1978 Clouds Mara Duke of York's Theatre, London [3]
1978 Arms and the Man Raina Greenwich Theatre, London [3]
1979 Amadeus Constanze National Theatre, London [9]
1980 Othello Desdemona National Theatre, London [3]
1981–82 On the Razzle Christopher National Theatre, London [3]
1981–82 The Second Mrs Tanqueray Paula National Theatre, London [95]
1982–83 The Real Thing Annie Strand Theatre, London [3]
1985 Jumpers Dorothy Aldwych Theatre, London [3]
1986 Made in Bangkok Frances Aldwych Theatre, London [3]
1988 Hapgood Hapgood Aldwych Theatre, London [96]
1989 Ivanov Anna Ivanov Strand Theatre, London [3][97]
1989 Much Ado about Nothing Beatrice Strand Theatre, London [3][65]
1990 Hidden Laughter Vaudeville Theatre, London [98]
1991 Tartuffe Ariade Utterword Theatre Royal Haymarket, London [99]
1992 Heartbreak House Theatre Royal Haymarket, London [100]
1993 Arcadia Hannah Jarvis National Theatre, London [3]
1994 An Absolute Turkey Globe Theatre, London [101]
1995 Indian Ink Flora Crewe Aldwych Theatre, London [3]
1996 Mind Millie for Me Theatre Royal Haymarket, London [102]
1997 The Seagull Madame Arkadina The Old Vic, London [3]
1997 Waste Amy O'Connell The Old Vic, London [103]
1998 Alarms and Excursions Gielgud Theatre, London [104]
2000 Fallen Angels Julia Apollo Theatre, London [105]
2002 Humble Boy Flora Gielgud Theatre, London [106]
2003 Happy Days Winnie Arts Theatre, London [68]
2006 Amy's View Esme Garrick Theatre, London [69]
2008 The Vortex Florence Apollo Theatre, London [70]
2009 The Last Cigarette Simon Gray Chichester Festival Theatre/Trafalgar Studios, London [107]
2010 Mrs. Warren's Profession Mrs. Warren Comedy Theatre, London [108]
2013 Relatively Speaking Sheila Wyndham's Theatre, London [16][109]
2013 Chin Chin Pamela Pusey-Picq Touring [72]
2015 Hay Fever Judith Bliss Duke of York's Theatre, London [16][110]
2016 A Room with a View Charlotte Bartlett Theatre Royal, Bath [16][111]
2017 Lettice and Lovage Lettice Douffet Menier Chocolate Factory, London [16][112]
2019 The Argument Chloe Theatre Royal, Bath [16][113]
2021 Anything Goes Evangeline Harcourt Barbican Theatre, London [75]
2023 Noises Off Dotty Otley Phoenix Theatre/Theatre Royal Haymarket, London [77]

Television

[edit]
Felicity Kendal television appearances
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1966 Love Story The Turkish Cypriot girl episode "Another Name from Nowhere" [3]
1966 Love Story Jenny episode "A Toy Soldier" [3]
1966 The Wednesday Play The girl episode "The May Fly and the Frog" [15]
1967 ITV Play of the Week Beth Gray episode "Person Unknown" [3]
1967 Boy Meets Girl Mina episode "Love with a Few Hairs" [3]
1967 Thirty-Minute Theatre La Principessa episode "Come Death" [15]
1967 Man in a Suitcase Marcelle episode "Blind Spot" [3][16]
1967 Half Hour Story Candy episode "Gone and Never Called Me Mother" [3]
1978 The Easter Play: Strindberg's Easter Eleonora [15]
1968–69 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Rose [3]
1970 The Woodlanders Grace Melbury [3]
1972 Jason King Toki episode "Toki" [3]
1973 Dolly Dolly episodes "The House Opposite", "A Life Subscription", "The Other Lady" [3]
1975 Edward the Seventh[a] Princess Vicky [3]
1975–77 The Good Life Barbara Good [20]
1976 Call My Bluff panelist [3]
1976 Going for a Song [3]
1976 ITV Sunday Night Drama Nicola episode "Now Is Too Late" [3]
1976 Murder Jane episode "A Variety of Passion" [3]
1977 Night of 100 Stars [3]
1978 A Play for Love Cressida Bell episode "The Marriage Counsellor" [114][115]
1978 ITV Playhouse Victoria episode "Home and Beauty" [3]
1978 Clouds of Glory Dorothy Wordsworth episodes "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "William and Dorothy" [3]
1980 Twelfth Night Viola [3]
1981 Friday Night, Saturday Morning Guest [3]
1981 The Theatre Quiz [3]
1981–82 Solo Gemma Palmer [3]
1984 The Wandering Company actress, Shakespeare Wallah Documentary [3]
1985 and 1987 The Mistress Maxine [3]
1986 Wogan Guest host [3]
1986 On the Razzle Christopher [3]
1992 The Camomile Lawn Helena [3]
1992 Shakespeare: The Animated Tales: Romeo and Juliet Narrator [3]
1993 The Full Wax [3]
1994 Honey for Tea Nancy Belasco [3]
1995 The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends Voice of Hunca Munca episode "The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse" [3]
1996 French and Saunders [3]
1998 Clive Anderson All Talk [3]
1999 Loose Women [3]
2000 How Proust Can Change Your Life Narrator [3]
2001 Funny Turns, Felicity Kendal: A Passage from India [3]
2001 Top Ten: Sex Bombs [3]
2003 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross [3]
2003–2006 Rosemary & Thyme Rosemary Boxer [3]
2005 The South Bank Show episode "Peter Hall – 50 Years in Theatre: Part 2" [3]
2006 The Kumars at No. 42 [3]
2006 The Paul O'Grady Show [3]
2008 Richard & Judy [3]
2008 The Alan Titchmarsh Show [3]
2008 Arena episode "Paul Scofield" [3]
2008 Doctor Who Lady Clemency Eddison episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp" [3]
2010 Strictly Come Dancing (series 8) contestant partnered with Vincent Simone [2]
2010 The ONE Show [3]
2010 BBC Breakfast [3]
2012 Felicity Kendal's Indian Shakespeare Quest [116]
2012 Piers Morgan's Life Stories guest [117]
2017 Inside No.9 episode "Private View" [118]
2019 Pennyworth Baroness Ortsey episode "Cilla Black" [119]
2024 Ludwig Lady Camilla Bryce 1 episode [120]

Film work

[edit]
Felicity Kendal film roles
Year Title Role Comments Ref.
1965 Shakespeare Wallah Lizzie Buckingham [4][3]
1977 Valentino June Mathis [3]
1993 We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story Elsa (voice) [3]
1999 Parting Shots (1999) Jill Saunders [3]

Awards

[edit]
Year Award Category Details Result Ref.
1974 Variety Club Most Promising Artiste The Norman Conquests Won [121]
1979 Variety Club Best Actress Marain, Clouds Won [55]
1980 Clarence Derwent Award Best supporting actress Constanza Mozart, Amadeus Won [122]
1984 Variety Club Woman of the Year Won [31]
1984 Variety Club Best Actress Won [31]
1989 Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Performance by an Actress Much Ado About Nothing and Ivanov Won [123]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ also known as Edward the King and The Royal Victorians

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Nikkhah, Roya (2015). "Felicity Kendal: I'm happy with my ex-husband — but won't marry him again" Archived 12 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, The Telegraph (London), 3 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Strictly Come Dancing: Felicity Kendal". BBC. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc "Felicity Kendal". Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024 – via Gale in Context: Biography.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Shakespeare Wallah". Merchant Ivory Productions. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b Singh, Kuldip (15 June 1998). "Obituary: Geoffrey Kendal". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b Kendal 1998.
  7. ^ a b c d Roisman Cooper 2015, p. 207.
  8. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Desert Island Discs Revisited, The Good Life, Felicity Kendal". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Rees, Jasper (15 November 2006). "Why I love playing a monster". The Daily Telegraph. p. 35. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Greenstreet, Rosanna (27 March 2010). "Q&A: Felicity Kendal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  11. ^ Tynan, Kenneth (7 November 1965). "More bull trouble". The Observer. p. 24. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Gibbs, Patrick (31 December 1965). "Films of the year: Manna for a minority". The Daily Telegraph. p. 13. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Gibbs, Patrick (17 December 1965). "The morning after". The Daily Telegraph. p. 17. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b c Morley, Sheridan (8 November 1982). "The rigours of a charmed life". The Times. p. 11.
  15. ^ a b c d "Search results for 'Felicity Kendal'". BBC Programme Archive. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Felicity Kendal". United Agents. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  17. ^ Webber 2001, p. 111.
  18. ^ a b Pickering 1997, p. 876.
  19. ^ Moir, Jan (29 April 1996). "'I've had more love than most'". The Daily Telegraph. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c d e Duguid, Mark. "Good Life, The (1975–77)". BFI ScreenOnline. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  21. ^ a b Webber 2001, p. 14.
  22. ^ Webber 2001, p. 214.
  23. ^ Webber 2001, p. 2.
  24. ^ a b Koseluk 2000, p. 222.
  25. ^ a b Koseluk 2000, p. 221-222.
  26. ^ Kendal 1998, p. 292.
  27. ^ a b c d Koseluk 2000, p. 223.
  28. ^ Koseluk 2000, p. 224.
  29. ^ Webber 2001, p. 106.
  30. ^ a b Lewisohn 2003, p. 325.
  31. ^ a b c d e Vahimagi, Tise. "Kendal, Felicity (1946–)". BFI ScreenOnline. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  32. ^ a b c d Bonner & Jacobs 2017.
  33. ^ Koseluk 2000, p. 250-251.
  34. ^ Lewisohn 2003, p. 326.
  35. ^ a b Harries, Rhiannon (7 March 2010). "Felicity Kendal: 'Barbara follows me around like a good fairy'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  36. ^ Webber 2001, p. 16.
  37. ^ a b c Webber 2001, p. 113.
  38. ^ Johnson, Stuart (10 January 1981). "Wendy had the bright idea". Manchester Evening News. p. 10.
  39. ^ Pickering 1997, p. 877.
  40. ^ Irwin 2015, p. 98.
  41. ^ a b c Hogan, Michael (8 March 2022). "Wow, there's a lot of sex and swearing': Channel 4's top-rated drama ever, 30 years on". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  42. ^ a b c Paton, Maureen (7 August 2003). "I never saw myself as a sex symbol". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  43. ^ Lewis-Smith 1995, p. 40.
  44. ^ a b "Telly talk: Thyme to be telly 'tecs again". Manchester Evening News. 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  45. ^ "Felicity Kendal interview". ITV. 13 July 2007. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010.
  46. ^ a b Nadel 2004, p. 317.
  47. ^ a b Webber 2001, p. 110.
  48. ^ a b c Wardle, Irving (26 July 1967). "Middlebrow angle on corruption". The Times. p. 6.
  49. ^ a b "Felicity Kendal". National Theatre Archive. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  50. ^ Gibson 1986, p. 74.
  51. ^ Gibson 1986, p. 75-77.
  52. ^ Gibson 1986, p. 77.
  53. ^ Johns 1973, p. 176, 191.
  54. ^ Barratt 2005, p. 76.
  55. ^ a b Edward, Sydney. "Double for Evita". Evening Standard. p. 1. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  56. ^ Tims, Anna (14 January 2013). "How we made: Peter Shaffer and Felicity Kendal on Amadeus". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  57. ^ "Drama on 3: Amadeus". BBC Radio 3. 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  58. ^ Delaney 2001, pp. 5–8.
  59. ^ a b c Delaney 2001a, p. 33.
  60. ^ a b Delaney 1990, p. 135.
  61. ^ a b c Nadel 2004, p. 319.
  62. ^ a b Spencer, Charles (1 March 1995). "Stoppard in the heart of India". The Daily Telegraph. p. 21. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  63. ^ Delaney 2021, p. 541.
  64. ^ "The awards in full". Evening Standard. 14 November 1989. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  65. ^ a b van Werson, Gerard (25 May 1989). "Strand: Much Ado about Nothing". The Stage. p. 13.
  66. ^ Morley, Sheridan (15 May 1996). "'Nuremberg Trial' Avoids the Histrionics". International Herald Tribune. p. 13.
  67. ^ Chapman, Geoff (29 November 1996). "London's Old Vic lands major actors". Toronto Star. p. D.13.
  68. ^ a b Billington, Michael (19 November 2003). "Happy Days – Arts, London". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  69. ^ a b Neill, Heather (30 November 2006). "A lesson in maturity". The Stage. p. 19.
  70. ^ a b c Benedict, David (3 March 2008). "The Vortex". Variety. Vol. 410, no. 3. p. 42.
  71. ^ Spencer, Charles (21 May 2013). "Relatively Speaking, Wyndham's Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  72. ^ a b Shenton, Mark (16 July 2013). "Felicity Kendal and Simon Callow to Star in U.K. Tour of Classic Comedy Chin-Chin". Playbill. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  73. ^ Billington (critic), Michael (28 August 2014). "Hay Fever review – hysteria rules as Felicity Kendal does Coward". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018.
  74. ^ "Win tickets to Noel Coward's Hay Fever!". 774 ABC Melbourne. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 November 2014.
  75. ^ a b Gans, Andrew (4 August 2021). "Sutton Foster Is Reno Sweeney in London's Anything Goes, Opening August 4 at the Barbican". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  76. ^ "Saturday Live: Felicity Kendal and Ore Oduba". BBC. 25 June 2012.
  77. ^ a b Gans, Andrew (19 July 2023). "40th Anniversary Tour of Noises Off, Starring Felicity Kendal, Sets West End Return". Playbill. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  78. ^ Swain, Marianka (20 October 2023). "Noises off: Michael Frayn's masterpiece remains unmatched for laugh-til-you-weep hilarity". The Daily Telegraph.
  79. ^ "Untitled". Nottingham Recorder. 1 April 1982. p. 10. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  80. ^ "Shape Up and Dance with Felicity Kendal (Volume One)". Official Chart Company. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  81. ^ Nonsense songs (Audiobook on CD, 1995) [WorldCat.org]. Libcat.calacademy.org. 4 January 2019. ISBN 978-1-898608-21-9. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  82. ^ "Good life split for Felicity". Daily Record. 1 March 1991. p. 17. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  83. ^ Coveney, Michael (30 March 2023). "Michael Rudman obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  84. ^ Garvey, Anne (26 October 2006). "Felicity Kendal's good (Jewish) life". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  85. ^ "Felicity Kendal interview with Saga Magazine". saga.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  86. ^ Kale, Sirin (20 August 2018). "Behind the times? The strange, sad story of rear of the year". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  87. ^ "No. 53893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1994. p. 9.
  88. ^ "Our Ambassadors: Felicity Kendal CBE" Archived 12 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Royal Voluntary Service, Cardiff. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  89. ^ a b c Nadel 2004, pp. 315–316.
  90. ^ "Kean coming to the Globe Theatre". The Times. 9 January 1971. p. 17.
  91. ^ Johns 1973, p. 176.
  92. ^ Johns 1973, p. 191.
  93. ^ Johns 1973, p. 188.
  94. ^ Johns 1973, p. 124.
  95. ^ Huckerby, Martin (18 September 1981). "Return of the third dimension". The Times. p. P.II.
  96. ^ Hepple, Peter (17 March 1988). "A quantum leap into darkness". The Stage. p. 15.
  97. ^ Hepple, Peter (20 April 1989). "Strand: Ivanov". The Stage. p. 9.
  98. ^ Kingston, Jeremy (7 June 1990). "Nightmares and nicotine". The Times. p. 18.
  99. ^ "Today's Events". The Times. 14 October 1991. p. 18.
  100. ^ Spencer, Charles (21 March 1992). "Heartfelt heartbreak". The Daily Telegraph. p. 61. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  101. ^ Billington, Michael (6 January 1994). "Turkey with French undressing". The Guardian. p. 9. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  102. ^ Coveney, Michael (11 November 2004). "Obituart: Robert Lang". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  103. ^ Nightingale, Benedict (15 March 1997). "Yes, minister". The Times. p. 23.
  104. ^ Butler, Robert (19 September 1998). "It's a complete farce". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  105. ^ Nightingale, Benedict (27 October 2000). "Whines and spirits". The Times. p. 17[S].
  106. ^ Wolf, Matt (11 February 2002). "Humble Boy (Follow up)". Variety. Vol. 385, no. 12. p. 50.
  107. ^ Walker, Tim (29 April 2009). "No smoke without fire for Felicity Kendal". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  108. ^ Spencer, Charles (26 March 2010). "Mrs Warren's Profession at the Comedy Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  109. ^ Billington, Michael (20 May 2013). "Relatively Speaking – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  110. ^ Billington, Michael (27 August 2014). "Hay Fever review – hysteria rules as Felicity Kendal does Coward". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  111. ^ Billington, Michael (7 October 2016). "A Room With a View review – Felicity Kendal's star power obscures Forster's story". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  112. ^ Sheahan, Susan (21 May 2017). "Lettice and Lovage review – Felicity Kendal and Maureen Lipman shine". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  113. ^ Billington, Michael (14 August 2019). "The Argument review – no winners emerge from William Boyd's couple at war". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  114. ^ "Eleven Yorkshire plays on Sunday night". The Stage. 16 March 1978. p. 28.
  115. ^ "The marriage trap". Manchester Evening News. 8 April 1978. p. 42.
  116. ^ Sutcliffe, Tom (16 May 2012). "Last Night's Viewing: Secret Eaters, Channel 4 Felicity Kendal's Indian Shakespeare Quest, BBC2". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  117. ^ Singh, Anita (19 October 2012). "Felicity Kendal: Botox looks silly when you're 66, but tattoos are just fine". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  118. ^ "Felicity Kendal interview". British Comedy Guide. 19 March 2017.
  119. ^ "Pennyworth: Cilla Black". Apple TV. January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  120. ^ "Ludwig: Series 1 Episode 2". BBC. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  121. ^ "Show-biz awards: Variety Club's accolade". The Stage. 9 January 1975. p. 7.
  122. ^ "Reward for top support". Evening Standard. 3 March 1980. p. 6. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  123. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 1980–2003". Evening Standard. 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.

Books and journal articles

[edit]
[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felicity_Kendal&oldid=1257545651"