It is with great sadness that we read that Richard Briers,CBE, a star of the highly successful 1970’s TV sitcom series “The Good Life”, has passed away at the age of 79. He will for most people be strongly associated with his role as Tom Good who made them laugh uproariously with his antics during his chosen life of self-sufficiency in Surbiton. What may surprise many is that “The Good Life” ran for only three years, and was but a minute part of his work in an acting career that spanned some fifty years. He was a highly regarded English actor whose career covered stage,film, TV, and radio.
The long list of acting credits to his name will be well covered by a great number of obituaries, and in interviews with friends and colleagues who knew him well and will testify to his genius. They will also talk of his great generosity shown to people he worked with. He was by all accounts in real life always a “thoroughly good and nice bloke.” What better thing can be said of anyone.
In his sixties and seventies, he worked mainly doing TV work, as in “Monarch of the Glen”, and eventually towards the end of his life happy only to do voice overs, but he was also acclaimed during these years for fine Shakespearean performances.
The writer for one will still enjoy immensely watching repeats of TV episodes of “The Good Life”,which was the work that made him a much loved household name.He apparently never tired of the attention received when recognised in public.