<\/p>\n
\n \n Prunella Scales, the actress best known for playing Sybil Fawlty in 1970s British comedy series \u201cFawlty Towers,\u201d<\/a> has died, her family told the UK\u2019s PA Media news agency Tuesday. She was 93.\n <\/p>\n \n Her family said in the statement that Scales \u201cdied peacefully at home in London\u201d Monday. She had been watching \u201cFawlty Towers\u201d the day before, they added.\n <\/p>\n \n Widely considered one of the funniest TV shows of all time, \u201cFawlty Towers\u201d starred Scales as the long-suffering wife of Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese<\/a>) \u2013 a rude hotel manager who forever appeared to be on the brink of a nervous breakdown.\n <\/p>\n \n The show, which ran in two six-part series, in 1975 and 1979, was a huge hit in Britain and went on to become a cult classic in the United States. Scales\u2019 catchphrase was simply her husband\u2019s name \u2013 Basil \u2013 which she screeched at every opportunity.\n <\/p>\n \n Born Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth on June 6, 1932, Scales took her mother\u2019s maiden name as her stage name. She studied at the Old Vic Theatre School in London, followed by the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York.\n <\/p>\n \n Scales, who was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1992 Queen\u2019s Birthday Honours List for her services to drama, married fellow British actor Timothy West in 1963. The couple had two sons, Joe and Samuel \u2013 the latter also an actor and director, who starred alongside his mother in the 1992 triple Oscar-winner \u201cHoward\u2019s End.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Besides \u201cFawlty Towers,\u201d Scales\u2019 many screen credits included roles in the 1978 thriller \u201cThe Boys from Brazil,\u201d which starred Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier, and 1994\u2019s \u201cWolf,\u201d alongside Jack Nicholson.\n <\/p>\n \n In later life, Scales and her husband appeared on screen together in \u201cGreat Canal Journeys,\u201d a documentary series for UK broadcaster Channel 4. In the first episode, which aired in 2014, the couple revealed that Scales suffered from a \u201cslight condition,\u201d which turned out to be dementia.\n <\/p>\n \n During the episode<\/a>, Scales said: \u201cWell, it can be a nuisance sometimes but it doesn\u2019t stop me remembering how to open a lock gate or make the skipper a cup of tea.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The pair explored the waterways, both in Britain and around the world, for 10 seasons across five years until 2019.\n <\/p>\n
\n London<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0
\n <\/cite>\n<\/p>\n