Felicity Kendal has revealed that the laughter shared on the set of the classic BBC sitcom The Good Life helped her through the pain of her divorce. The 79-year-old actress, who played Barbara Good in the show, reflected on her career in a new documentary titled Beyond The Good Life with Felicity Kendal, airing tonight.
The Good Life: A Source of Solace
Speaking about the show, which ran from 1975 to 1978, Kendal said: 'I don't think there was ever a bad day on The Good Life. I was going through a divorce at the time, so it was a period when I was not particularly happy or settled. Yet I do not remember that coming into rehearsals or performances at all. It was a wonder, that show and those people. We became close, close friends. Laughter was mostly what happened backstage.'
The sitcom, which also starred Richard Briers, Penelope Keith, and Paul Edgington, followed Tom and Barbara Good, a suburban couple who gave up the rat race for self-sufficiency. Their comedic attempts at 'the good life' were contrasted with their interactions with snooty neighbour Margo Leadbetter and her husband Jerry.
A Storied Career
Kendal's career spans over five decades, including stage performances in plays such as Amadeus, The Vortex, and The Real Thing, as well as TV shows like The Mistress, Rosemary and Thyme, and Strictly Come Dancing. This summer, she will appear in Cole Porter's High Society at London's Barbican Theatre.
She credits her parents, Geoffrey Kendal and Laura Liddell, as 'incredible mentors.' The family moved to India when she was seven, where they worked in a repertory theatre company. Their experiences inspired the Merchant Ivory film Shakespeare Wallah.
Personal Life and Reflections
Kendal married actor Drewe Henley in 1968, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1979. She later wed American theatre director Michael Rudman, whom she calls 'the love of my life,' from 1983 to 1990. She also famously dated playwright Sir Tom Stoppard and appeared in five of his plays.
On balancing family and fame, Kendal said: 'Family and acting are so intertwined. I grew up in a family working in theatre, then married an actor. It is difficult to separate them.'
Her friend Sir Ian McKellen praised her unique ability to make people laugh, saying: 'She has that round face, lips come together, and you think a bundle of laughter is about to tumble out. We all laugh with her.'
Kendal's mantra: 'Laughing is a medicine. Laughing and a walk will get you through most things.'
