Kenneth More

1914 - 1982

KENNETH  MORE

Born 20 September 1914 at Gerrards Cross, Bucks. Son of Charles Gilbert More and his wife Edith Winifred (nee Watkins). Educated at Victoria College, Jersey.

Married (1) Beryl Johnstone (marriage dissolved) (2) Mabel Edith Barkby (marriage dissolved) (3) Angela Douglas.

Made his first appearance on the stage at the Windmill Theatre, August 1935, in a revue sketch. During the War, 1939-1945, served as a Lieutenant in the RNVR. Returned to the stage in November 1946 at the Aldwych:

Stage appearances:

Click on pictures to enlarge

Aldwych, Nov 1946 : And No Birds Sing (as Rev. Arthur Platt)

New Lindsey, Feb 1947 : Power Without Glory (Eddie) – transferred to Fortune, Apr 1947

Lyric, July 1948 : Peace in Our Time (George Bourne) 

Phoenix, May 1950 : The Way Things Go (John)

Duchess, March 1952 : The Deep Blue Sea (Freddie)

Theatre Royal, Brighton, Jan 1961: The Angry Deep (director)

Phoenix, Oct 1963 : Out of the Crocodile (Peter Pounce)

Shaftesbury, Dec 1964: Our Man Crichton – musical (Crichton)

Savoy, Oct 1968: The Secretary Bird (Hugh Walford)

New, Nov 1970: The Winslow Boy (Sir Robert Morton)

Queen’s, Oct 1971: Getting On (George Oliver)

Vaudeville, June 1973: Signs of the Times (Andrew Perry)

Vaudeville, June 1977 : On Approval (Duke of Bristol)

 

Film appearances (Click on thumbnails for full picture or further details):

	Look Up and Laugh (1935)  Uncredited Appearance
	Windmill Revels (1937)  Uncredited Appearance
	Carry on London (1937)  Uncredited Appearance
	Toad of Toad Hall (1946) - TV Movie Mr. Badger
	School for Secrets (1946)  aka Secret Flight (1946) USA   with Ralph Richardson and Richard Attenborough. Written and Directed by Peter Ustinov
	Scott of the Antarctic (1948) Lieutenant Teddy Evans   with John Mills and Diana Churchill Directed by Charles Friend
	Man on the Run (1948) Newman, the blackmailer
	Stop Press Girl (1949) Sergeant
	Now Barabbas (1949) Spencer aka Now Barabbas Was a Robber (1949)
	Morning Departure (1950) Lieutenant Commander James aka Operation Disaster (1950) USA
	The Franchise Affair (1950) Stanley Peters
	Chance of a Lifetime (1950/1) Adam
	The Clouded Yellow (1951) Willy Shepley
	No Highway (1951) Dobson aka No Highway in the Sky (1951) USA Uncredited Appearance
	The Galloping Major (1951)
	Appointment with Venus (1951) Lionel Fallaize aka Island Rescue (1951) USA
	Brandy for the Parson (1952) Tony Rackham
	Never Let Me Go (1953) Steve Quillan
	The Yellow Balloon (1953) Ted Palmer
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	Genevieve (1953) Ambrose Claverhouse Nominated - Best British Actor (BAFTA) Pictured with Kay Kendall © The Rank Organisation
	Our Girl Friday (1954) Pat Plunkett aka The Adventures of Sadie (1954) USA
	Doctor in the House (1954) Richard Grimsdyke Won Best British Actor at BAFTA Film Awards With Donald Sinden, Dirk Bogarde and Donald Houston © The Rank Organisation
	The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955) Voice of Narrator
	The Deep Blue Sea (1955) Freddie Page Won - Best Actor at Venice Film Festival Nominated - Best British Actor (BAFTA) With Peter Illing and Raymond Francis © BBC Copyright
	Raising a Riot (1955) Tony Kent The Stern Parent © EMI
Further pictures include behind scenes shots - click on picture to view	Reach for the Sky (1956) Douglas Bader Nominated - Best British Actor (BAFTA) © The Rank Organisation
	The Admirable Crichton (1957) William Crichton aka Paradise Lagoon (1957) USA
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	A Night to Remember (1958) Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958) Jonathan Tibbs With Ronald Squire © Twentieth Century-Fox
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	The Thirty-Nine Steps (1959) Richard Hannay With Taina Elg © The Rank Organisation
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	North West Frontier (1959) Captain Scott aka Flame Over India (1959) USA With I.S. Johar © The Rank Organisation
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	Sink the Bismarck! (1960) Captain Jonathan Shepard © Twentieth Century-Fox
	Next to No Time (1960) David Webb
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	The Man in the Moon (1960) William Blood © The Rank Organisation
	The Greengage Summer (1961) Eliot aka Loss of Innocence (1961) USA
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	We Joined the Navy (1962) Commander Badger aka We Are in the Navy Now (1962) USA
	Some People (1962) Mr Smith
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	The Longest Day (1962) Captain Colin Maud
	Heart to Heart (1962) - TV Movie David Mann
	The Comedy Man (1963) Chick Byrd
	The Collector (1965) Uncredited Appearance
	Final Demand (1966) - TV Movie aka Theatre 625: Final Demand (1966) UK: Series Title
	The Mercenaries (1968) Dr. Wreid aka Dark of the Sun (1968) USA
	The Betrayal (1969) Colonel Foreman aka Fraulein Doktor (1969) USA
	The Battle of Britain (1969) Group Captain Baker With Susannah York © Kenneth More Personal Collection
	Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) Kaiser Wilhelm II
	Scrooge (1970) Ghost of Christmas Present
	Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1976) Prof. Otto Lindenbrock aka Where Time Began (1978) USA   We are very grateful to Len Marry for providing the correct image for this film.
	The Slipper and the Rose (1976) Lord Chamberlain
	Leopard in the Snow (1978) Sir Philip James
	The Silent Witness (1978) Voice of Narrator
Further pictures included - click on picture to view	The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979) King Arthur aka A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court (1979) USA aka Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979) USA
	Tale of Two Cities (1980) - TV Movie Dr. Jarvis Lorry

 

Television :

Talking Sport (1963)

The Forsyte Saga (1967) Jolyon 'Jo' Forsyte

 

The White Rabbit (1967) Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas

Father Brown (1974) Father Brown

 

An Englishman's Castle (1978) 

 

Books:

Happy Go Lucky (1959); Kindly Leave the Stage (1965) 

More or Less (1978)

 

Awarded the CBE in the New Year’s Honours, 1970

Kenneth More made his first appearance at the Kenneth More Theatre in April, 1977. It was a 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.

He was scheduled to appear at the Kenneth More Theatre in February 1979 in a programme called "Kenneth More and Friends". At the last minute he was too ill to appear. He was in the early stages of the Parkinson’s Disease which was to be the cause of his death on 12th July 1982.