# Penelope Keith, RIP June 29, 2026

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penelope-keith-rip-june-29-2026/1031338>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 1, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penelope-keith-rip-june-29-2026/1031338 "2026-07-01T17:08:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penelope-keith-rip-june-29-2026/1031338/1 "2026-07-01T17:08:38Z")

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Just saw this today. Funny lady, found her niche in The Good Life, and pretty much stuck to it.

It just occurs to me how much fun a crossover between To The Manor Born and Keeping Up Appearances could have been.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penelope-keith-rip-june-29-2026/1031338/2 "2026-07-01T17:11:39Z")

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British Actress:

> **[Penelope Keith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_Keith)**
>
> Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith (née Hatfield; 2 April 1940 – 29 June 2026) was an English actress. Active in film, radio, stage and television, where she was also a presenter, Keith was primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born. She succeeded Lord Olivier as president of the Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989 and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the ar...

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**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penelope-keith-rip-june-29-2026/1031338/3 "2026-07-01T19:30:34Z")

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Well, thank you very much!

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penelope-keith-rip-june-29-2026/1031338/4 "2026-07-01T19:54:50Z")

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Penelope was also briefly in one of the first Emma Peel episodes of _ **The Avengers.** _ She was a happy bride coming out of a crooked mail-order marriage agency.

_._

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**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penelope-keith-rip-june-29-2026/1031338/5 "2026-07-01T19:59:34Z")

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I remember _The Good Life_ and watching primarily for Felicity Kendall, but Keith was great too. I can’t believe she was only aged 35 to 38 during the show’s run. She seemed ancient when I was a kid.