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Jo Kendall passed away on January 29 at the age of 83. Actor John Cleese paid tribute to Kendall on Twitter, who was also a member of the 1963 Cambridge Footlights revue Cambridge Circus alongside Kendall.
John said,
“I woke to hear of dear Jo Kendall’s death. She was in the 1963 Cambridge Footlights Revue which took her, Tim Brooke Taylor, Bill Oddie, David Hatch, Humphrey Barclay and me into Show Business. Jo performed in over 100 ‘I’m sorry I’ll read that Again’ shows and the 1948 show…”
Cleese described Kendall as a very likable, cheerful, and friendly woman. They got to know each other during their 1964 Tour of New Zealand, and they started appearing together off-Broadway.
John said that Jo was an integral part of the ISIRTA team and they did several John and Mary sketches. Cleese concluded by saying that he has many memories of her.
Jo Kendall’s journey in the entertainment industry
Josephine May Kendall, born on February 17, 1938, played the role of Desdemona in a production of Othello at Cambridge ADC Theatre in 1962.
She then appeared in the West End in London, New Zealand, and Broadway in 1963 and the Cambridge University revue Cambridge Circus, directed by Humphrey Barclay.
Josephine was a frequent performer in BBC’s radio comedy program, I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again, and played the role of Lady Cynthia Fitzmelton in the opening episode of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Kendall appeared in the comedy-drama The Unvarnished Truth at London’s Phoenix Theatre in 1978 and was seen as Aunt Maud in the BBC children’s series Marlene Marlowe Investigates in 1993 and 1994.
Jo played the role of Adelaide Palliser in the 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope’s Palliser novels, The Pallisers. This was followed by the 1979 drama film, Scum, and the period romantic drama Howards End in 1992.
The Spalding, Lincolnshire native was seen playing Peggy Skilbeck in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm. She then appeared as Mrs. Bardell in The Pickwick Papers in 1985 and Anne Stanhope in the television play, The Six Wives of Henry VIII.
Kendall was cast as the mother of the character Roland Browning in the children’s television drama, Grange Hill in the 1980s and appeared as Miss Elizabeth Wait in the BBC adaptation of The Cuckoo Sister in 1986.
Netizens pay tribute to Jo Kendall
Jo Kendall was a resident of Suffolk before her death and gained recognition during the 1960s for her appearances on stage and television. The public and other celebrities paid tribute when they heard of his death.
Josephine married local farmer Frederick J. Bowd in 1958 in Holbeach St. Marks, Lincolnshire, and spent her last days at Denville Hall, a London retirement home made for acting and theater stars.
