Remembering 'Keeping Up Appearances'" Clive Swift

Many of you have likely already heard the sad news that veteran British actor Clive Swift passed away this week at the age of 82. According to his agent, the actor, who was best known for his role as Hyacinth Bucket's longsuffering husband Richard in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, died at home after a short illness. He was surrounded by his family.

Mr. Swift was born in Liverpool in 1936. He studied English Literature at Cambridge University and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for a decade before transitioning to mostly television work. Swift appeared in series such as Peak Practice, Born and Bred and The Old Guys. In 2007, he guest starred in the Doctor Who Christmas episode "Voyage of the Damned," where he played Mr. Copper, a ship's historian with a degree in “Earthonomics.”

But it is, of course, his five seasons as Richard Bucket on the early 90’s series Keeping Up Appearances that generations of viewers will most fondly recall. This character he so subtly brought to the screen was a textbook henpecked husband who often allowed his wife to walk all over him. Indeed, the couple frequently found themselves in completely preposterous situations due to Hyacinth’s stubborn insistence on social climbing activities.