Felicity Kendal: It was terribly hard to watch my husband die
She says ‘there is no room in my world for someone else’, except her dog.
Actress Felicity Kendal has recalled the “terribly hard” time she had watching her husband Michael Rudman die.
The 77-year-old, known for playing Barbara Good in comedy series The Good Life and Rosemary Boxer in detective show Rosemary & Thyme, was with the American theatre director off and on for several decades until he died last year.
Kendal told Saga Magazine: “I was there when he died and it was terribly hard to watch. A combination of things ended his life: a haemorrhage, heart and blood pressure problems, and a fall.
“It was hard for him since he wanted to be independent.”
Kendal also told the publication that “it’s very important to let go”.
However, she added: “When I’m faced with a decision about something now, I still ask Michael about what I should do; that’s not being spooky, that’s just going into the many memories that will give me the answer to what he would say because I knew him so well.”
The pair were together for seven years after tying the knot in 1983.
They then divorced and reunited in 1998, until he died in March 2023.
Kendal also said she can hear Rudman, whose production of Death Of A Salesman in New York won a best revival Tony award, telling her “don’t you dare” get hitched again.
She added: “He would be furious if I married again, though it couldn’t be further from my inclination. There is no room in my world for someone else – apart from my dog Rufus…”
Kendal has two sons, Jacob Rudman, with Rudman, and Charley Henley with her former husband, the actor Drewe Henley, who died in 2016.
She is also known for Solo, Mistress, The Camomile Lawn and for her theatre work including Clouds directed by Rudman, for which she won best actress of the year at the 1979 Variety Club awards.
