Date of Birth

20 September 1914, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Date of Death

12 July 1982, Fulham, London, England, UK

Affable, bright and breezy Kenneth More epitomised the traditional English virtues of fortitude and fun. At the height of his fame in the 1950s he was Britain's most popular film star and had appeared in a string of box office hits including Genevieve (1953), Doctor in the House (1954), Reach for the Sky (1956) and A Night to Remember (1958).

Later in his career, when the film industry declined, he turned his talents to television where his interpretations of Jolyon in BBC's "The Forsyte Saga" (1967) and the title role in "Father Brown" (1974) made him a household name all over again.

More was a shrewd man when it came to the business of acting. He knew his limitations and what roles suited him. When the director Sir Peter Hall once suggested that he play Claudius to Albert Finney's Hamlet at the Royal National Theatre, More declined saying "One part of me would like to, but the other part said that there were so many great Shakespearian actors who could have done it better. I stick to the roles I can play better than them."

Born in Gerrards Cross in 1914 More's early grounding was in variety and legitimate theatre in the UK. On screen, like many leading men in the 1950s such as John Mills and Jack Hawkins, he seemed to spend most of the decade in uniform. When he read Reach for the Sky, the biography of the legless wartime pilot Douglas Bader, he was desperate to play the role, even though it was earmarked for Richard Burton. "I knew I was the only actor who could play the part properly" he said. "Most parts that can be played by one actor can equally well be played by another, but not this. Bader's philosophy was my philosophy. His whole attitude to life was mine."

Films such as North West Frontier (1959) and Sink the Bismarck! (1960) kept More at the top although his favourite role was as the down at heel actor in The Greengage Summer (1961). His private life was colourful and he was rarely out of the newspaper headlines. He was married three times, lastly to the actress Angela Douglas, whom he met whilst filming Some People (1962) with her. His drinking companions were the hellraisers Trevor Howard and Jack Hawkins. Noel Coward once tried to seduce him in a bedroom but More gasped "Oh, Mr Coward, sir - I could never have an affair with you, because you remind me of my father!"

Asked to sum up his enduring appeal More said "A film like Genevieve to my contemporaries is not a film made years ago, but last week or last year. They see me as I was then, not as I am now. I am the reassurance that they have not changed. In an upside down world, with all the rules being rewritten as the game goes on and spectators invading the pitch, it is good to feel that some things and some people seem to stay just as they were."

He fathered two daughters - Susan Jane More (1941 - ) from his first marriage to Beryl Johnstone and Sarah Elizabeth More (1954 - ) from his second marriage to "Bill" Barkby. Following his divorce from Beryl Johnstone, and her subsequent re-marriage it was decided that it would be in his daughters best interests if she grew up with only one father figure. As a result they did not meet again until 1957 when she had turned fifteen, although they had kept in touch throughout this period, writing regularly. His third wife, the actress Angela Douglas, was known to him simply as 'Shrimp'.

For much of his role as Bill Crichton in The Admirable Crichton (1957), he was filmed from the waist up to hide the fact that he was wearing shorts with his dinner-jacket because of the heat during filming. Although universally disliked by the critics this film went on to be the second biggest "grosser" at UK cinemas during 1957.

Announced his retirement from acting in 1980 due to the onset of Parkinson's disease.

Served throughout the Second World War in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He was "demobbed" in 1946 as a lieutenant having served on the light-cruiser HMS Aurora as a Watch Keeping Officer, and the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious as a Fighter Directions Officer.

Tried unsuccessfully to join the Royal Air Force on a short service commission. Having been sent to what was then the RAF headquarters at Adastral House in Kingsway, London for a medical, he failed the test for equilibrium. After being strapped into a chair and spun round he was then required to get out of the chair and walk in a straight line. He got to his feet, but as soon as he tried to walk he fell flat on his face. In 1939, as war was declared, he made a renewed attempted to join up, this time with the Royal Navy. Again he was unsuccessful as the services had too many men applying and no where to put them. He returned to Rep in Birmingham only to find the "Closed" sign going up on the theatre door. Determined to do his bit he then volunteered to drive ambulances and this time he was successful. This was short-lived as he received a letter in the spring of 1940 to join Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships. He joined the "MV Lobus" and his naval career, which would progress to the Royal Navy, was finally underway.

After leaving school at seventeen he followed a family tradition and became an engineering apprentice with Sentinel-Cammell in Shrewsbury, Shropshire earning a pound-a-week. However at the end of his two-year "privileged apprenticeship" he choose instead to apply to the RAF along with a close friend, John Hulton-Harrop. More was unsuccessful while Hulton-Harrop, who qualified as a first rate fighter pilot, was shot down and killed by his own coastal defences in one of the RAF's earliest sweeps over France.

Spent part of his childhood in the Channel Islands where his father was general manager of Jersey Eastern Railways. He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey. It was there that he took part in his first school play, "The Sport of Kings" playing the part of a red-haired girl. His first male part at the school was in J.M. Barrie's "The Admirable Crichton". Years later he would play the lead in both the screen adaptation and the stage musical.

Published two volumes of autobiography, Happy Go Lucky (1959) and More or Less (1978) and a book of reminiscences, Kindly Leave the Stage (1965).

Was best man to Roger Moore at his wedding to Luisa Mattioli on 11th April 1969.

Ilford's civic theatre, The Kenneth More Theatre, opened on the very last day of 1974, is named in his honour. One of the few living English performers to have a theatre named after him, he made his first appearance at the theatre in April, 1977. It was an evening of poetry, prose and music entitled "Kenneth More Requests the Pleasure of Your Company". Appearing with him were Vivyan Ellacott, Roderick Elms, Edna Graham. Barbara Hills and Eleanor Thomas. An appearance scheduled for February 1979 in a programme called "Kenneth More and Friends" had to be cancelled at the last moment as he was too ill to appear. The "Kenneth More" is also home to the annual "Kenny Awards" centred on the ninety or so productions staged each year at the theatre. Voting for the awards is through a panel of independent reviewers and theatre audiences.

He was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1970 Queen's New Year's Honours List for his services to drama.

Made his first appearance on the stage at the Windmill Theatre in August 1935, in a revue sketch. He returned to the stage, following his "demob" from the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, in November 1946 at the Aldwych.

Son of Charles Gilbert More and his wife Edith Winifred (nee Watkins). His mother, the daughter of a Cardiff solicitor was known affectionately as "Topsy". His sister Kate was 18 months his senior.

Read the address at the memorial service for Jack Hawkins on 14 September 1973 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London.

Wrote a letter of support for Alexander Walker (1930-2003) when he applied for the post of London Evening Standard Film Critic in 1960. More had apparently been delighted by one of Walker's reviews whilst he was on the Birmingham Post. Walker remained with the Standard for the next 43 years and was Critic of the Year in the British Press Awards (1970, 1974 and 1998) as well as writing twenty books on cinema.

Despite the fact that his film career had stalled by 1962, he played the lead in "Some People" (1962) for nothing, apart from expenses. The proceeds of the film were in aid of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and the National Playing Fields Association.

Was a well known member of "The Garrick Club" in London and once claimed that if he only had enough money left in the world to pay the club subscription and nothing else, he would pay it.

Was sued unsuccessfully by the singer Dorothy Squires (aka Mrs Roger Moore) in 1969 when he mistakenly referred to another woman as Roger Moore's wife. Kenneth More had been introducing guests prior to the British Film Academy Awards at the Hilton Hotel, London for a TV film documenting the event. The other woman was in fact Luisa Mattioli who had lived with Roger Moore for several years after he had separated from Miss Squires. Representing Kenneth More was Michael Havers, one of the UK's most eminent barristers. The jury took just 30 minutes to decide that no defamation had taken place.

In 1957, he presented his old school, Victoria College, with an oil painting of King Charles I, which hangs prominently in College Hall. Equally lasting a legacy was his institution in 1962 of the annual Kenneth More Prize for Drama.

More was granted one of showbusiness's highest accolades on 7th October 1975 when he was guest of honour at a special Variety Club of Great Britain luncheon. The event, held at the Savoy Hotel, in the company of most of Britain's top showbiz personalities was organised to celebrate his 40 years in the profession. Joining More and his wife Angela Douglas was Douglas Bader, the Royal Air Force fighter ace whom More portrayed in Reach for the Sky (1956).

Despite being reluctant to become involved in television advertising he eventually endorsed "Birds Coffee" in the UK. Having been paid what he considered to be "an awful lot of money for half a days work" he asked why the offer was made to him? The answer came back that fourteen names went into a computer in America - measured against all the qualities of a typical Englishman, the qualities that would make the average housewife believe that this was someone whose word could be relied on, and your name came out of the computer.

Like many film stars of the 1950s, More had a regular stand-in, Jack Manderville, who was also a personal friend.

Was considered as a replacement for Bernard Lee as 'M' in the James Bond films when Lee was ill making Live And Let Die (1973). More died a year after Lee.

In 1972 More took part in a protest at the House of Commons against the proposed introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) into the United Kingdom. Amongst the other actors and actresses taking part were Charles Vance and Evelyn Laye. Despite the protest VAT was introduced into the UK on 1 April 1973, as a direct consequence of entry into the European 'Common Market'.

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