Jo Kendall is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 actress.

She played Desdemona

Desdemona

Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello.Desdemona may also refer to:People* Desdemona , a soprano role in the 1816 opera Otello by Gioachino Rossini...

 in a production of Othello

Othello

The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...

 at the A.D.C. Theatre, Cambridge in 1962.

In August 1963 she appeared in the West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

, in the Cambridge University

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 revue

Revue

A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

 Cambridge Circus

Cambridge Footlights Revue

The Cambridge Footlights Revue is an annual revue by the Footlights Club - a group of comic writer-performers at the University of Cambridge. Two of the more notable revues are detailed below.-"A Clump of Plinths" — "Cambridge Circus":...

directed by Humphrey Barclay

Humphrey Barclay

Humphrey Barclay is a comedy executive and producer.-Career:His first foray into show business was via Cambridge Footlights revues where he appeared alongside Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, David Hatch, Jonathan Lynn, Jo Kendall and Miriam Margolyes...

, alongside Graham Chapman

Graham Chapman

Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...

, John Cleese

John Cleese

John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...

, Bill Oddie

Bill Oddie

William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....

, Tim Brooke-Taylor

Tim Brooke-Taylor

Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...

, David Hatch

David Hatch

Sir David Hatch was involved in production and management at BBC Radio, where he held many executive positions, including Head of Light Entertainment , Controller of BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 and later Managing Director of BBC Radio.- Education :He attended St John's School, Leatherhead and...

 and Chris Stuart-Clark.

Moving to radio comedy she was a regular performer in the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which originated from the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus...

(with John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden

Graeme Garden

David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...

 and David Hatch), and a member of the panel in the very first edition of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to ISIHAC or Clue, is a BBC radio comedy panel game broadcast since 11 April 1972 at the rate of one or two series each year , transmitted on BBC Radio 4, with occasional repeats on BBC Radio 4 Extra and the BBC's World Service...

. Kendall was also a regular team member of the popular radio comedy series The Burkiss Way

The Burkiss Way

The Burkiss Way was a BBC Radio 4 sketch comedy series broadcast from August 1976 to November 1980. It was written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, with additional material in early episodes by John Mason, Colin Bostock-Smith, Douglas Adams, John Lloyd and others. The show starred Denise...

and played Lady Cynthia Fitzmelton

Minor characters from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The following is an alphabetical list of the minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. The descriptions of the characters are accompanied by information on details about appearances and references to the characters...

 in the opening episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...

. In 1978 she appeared in the comedy drama The Unvarnished Truth

The Unvarnished Truth

The Unvarnished Truth is a 1978 play by British author Royce Ryton.A comedy drama, The Unvarnished Truth opened in London's West End at the Phoenix Theatre in 1978, starring Royce Ryton, Jo Kendall, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor. It later went on a national tour...

at London's Phoenix Theatre

Phoenix Theatre (London)

The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located on Charing Cross Road . The entrance is in Phoenix Street....

 with Royce Ryton

Royce Ryton

Royce Thomas Carlisle Ryton was an English playwright. During the war he served in the Royal Navy; afterward, he went to train as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. As an actor, he played in many repertory theatres, including Bromley, Minehead, and Worthing. He also toured...

, Tim Brooke-Taylor

Tim Brooke-Taylor

Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...

 and Graeme Garden

Graeme Garden

David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...

. In 1993 and 1994 she played Aunt Maud opposite Kate Copstick

Kate Copstick

Kate Copstick is a Glasgow-born Scottish actress, television presenter, writer, critic, director and producer.-Career:She is best known for her roles on the children's TV shows No. 73 and ChuckleVision. She also played Marlene Marlowe in Marlene Marlowe Investigates and performed as part of the...

 in the BBC children's series Marlene Marlowe Investigates

Marlene Marlowe Investigates

Marlene Marlowe Investigates is a short-lived BBC children's programme based on the book by Roy Apps about an incompetent detective and her many adventures.-Series One:Transmitted: 25 September 1993 – 1 January 1994...

.

Kendall has also appeared in 'straight' drama. She appeared as Annie in the film adaptation of Howards End

Howards End (film)

Howards End is a 1992 film based upon the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster , a story of class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century England...

(1992), directed by James Ivory

James Ivory (director)

James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...

 and as the matron, Miss Biggs, in the film version of Scum

Scum (film)

Scum is a 1979 British crime drama film directed by Alan Clarke, portraying the brutality of life inside a British borstal. The story was originally made for the BBC's Play for Today strand in 1977, however due to the violence depicted in the film, it was withdrawn from broadcast...

(1979). Among her television roles, she played Mrs. Bardell in The Pickwick Papers

The Pickwick Papers (1985 television series)

The Pickwick Papers is a twelve-part BBC adaption of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, made in 1985. It starred Nigel Stock, Alan Parnaby, Clive Swift and Patrick Malahide, with narration spoken by Ray Brooks.- Central characters :...

(1985) and had a semi-regular part in Grange Hill

Grange Hill

Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...

in the 1980s as the mother of regular character Roland Browning.

She also played Peggy Skilbeck in the ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 series Emmerdale Farm

Emmerdale

Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...

and delivered the first ever line of the show.

She lives in Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, in the East of England

East of England

The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...

.

Further reading

Further information about Kendall can be found in the books:

• From Fringe to Flying Circus — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980' — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980.
• The Clue Bible — 'The Fully Authorised History of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue from Footlights to Mornington Crescent' — Jem Roberts, Preface, 2009.

External links