Born 20 September 1914 at Gerards Cross, Bucks, the son of Hilbert 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.

1935 Stage: Windmill Theatre

Film: “Look Up and Laugh” – Uncredited appearance
Directed by Basil Dean

Film: "Full Steam" - Uncredited appearance

1936 Film: “Bottle Party” – Credited as “Ken More”

Kenneth More features in a comedy routine with Gus Chevalier

1937 Film:   “Windmill Revels” – Uncredited appearance
Film:   “Carry On, London” – Uncredited appearance

The above films were produced by Ace Films and were mainly promotional films for the Windmill Theatre.

It seems there were 17 Ace short films promoting the Windmill Revuedeville Shows, and there may have been others in which Kenneth More appeared.

(Information kindly supplied by Maurice Poole)

Subsequent career:

1937 Stage Do You Remember? - Touring Production:

Barry O’Brien Touring Company

with Dorothy Baird, Reginald Newson, Dennis Shand, Peggy Primrose,

Kenneth More (playing Horace Fortesque), Brenda Green, Helen Lacey,

Rey Leywood, Louis Vanduse and Hillary Windsor

Tour opened w/c August 30: Pier Eastbourne

w/c September 4: Brighton West Pier

Other tour dates:  Birmingham Theatre Royal  w/c 11 October

(and after a short break in the tour )Lyceum Edinburgh w/c 29 November

1937 Stage Hands Never Lie – (by Olive Remple)

A one-week repertory production for the Lionel Westlake Company

w/c 15 November:  Grafton Theatre, Tottenham Court Road

with Florence Harwood, Mae Raymond, Kenneth More (playing the murderer),

Ann Wrigg, Raymond Douglas, John Wickham, John Rickett, Fred Ricketts,

Billy Williams, H. Cameron, A. Street.  

Produced by Joan Temple

1938 Stage Distinguished Gathering – (by James Parish)

A one week repertory production

w/c 15 August:  Wimbledon Theatre

Presented by the Trustees of J.BB. Mulholland

A murder play with John Garside, Oliver Johnston, Martin Lewis, Christine Bennett,

Kenneth More (as the young airman C.D.Williams), Mona Loverick, Naurice Braddell,

Millicent Wolf, Marjorie Cooper and Barbara Spicer.

Produced by Harold Mortlake

1939-1945  Served as a Lieutenant in the RNVR.

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

Film: “School for Secrets” with Ralph Richardson and Richard Attenborough.

 TV:  “Toad of Toad Hall” as Mr Badger

1947 Stage:  “Power Without Glory” as Eddie. (Feb. New Lindsey, trans to Fortune in April.)

1948 Stage:   “Peace in Our Time” as George Bourne. (July Lyric Theatre)

Films:  “Scott of the Antarctic” as Lieutenant Teddy Evans, with John Mills and Diana Churchill.    

“Man on the Run” as Newman the blackmailer.

1949 Film:  “Stop Press Girl” as Sergeant.

Film:  “Now Barabbas” as Spencer

1950 Stage:  “The Way Things Go” as John. (May, Phoenix Theatre)

Films:   “Morning Departure” as Lt. Commander James

 “The Franchise Affair” as Stanley Peters

 “Chance of a Lifetime” as Adam

1951 Films: “The Clouded Yellow” as Willy Shepley

“No Highway” as Dobson (Uncredited appearance!)

“The Galloping Major”

 “Appointment with Venus” as Lional Fallaize

1952 Stage:  “The Deep Blue Sea” as Freddie. (March, Duchess Theatre)

Film: “Brandy for the Parson” as Tony Rackham

1953 Films: “Never Let Me Go” as Steve Quillan

 “The Yellow Balloon” as Ted Palmer

 “Genevieve” as Ambrose Cleverhouse

1954 Films: “Our Girl Friday” as Pat Plunkett

 “Doctor in the House” as Richard Grimsdyke

1955 Films: “The Man Who Loved Redheads” – Voice of Narrator

 “The Deep Blue Sea” as Freddie Page

 “Raising a Riot” as Tony Kent

1956 Film: “Reach for the Sky” as Douglas Bader

Kenny with Johnny Johnson - RAF Ace Pilot

Kenny with Matron who married Douglas Bader

Yes, it’s a far cry from “Genevieve.” KENNETH MORE, the star who trundled to fame in that 52-year-old car, now drives this 100 m.p.h. car of the future. Says Kenneth, “I’m mad about cars.” He has just finished playing Douglas Bader, in Pinewood’s “REACH FOR THE SKY.” Still by Cornel Lucas

Miss More greets film producer. The blue-eyed blond perched on Kenneth More’s knee is his daughter, 21-month-old Sarah. She gives a friendly handshake to producer Daniel Angel – who is making REACH FOR THE SKY at Pinewood. Star of the film: Sarah’s daddy… Still by Charles Trigg

KENNETH MORE with the man who set him off on his show-business career: Impresario Vivian Van Damm. It was Van Damm who gave More his first show-business jobs – as a stagehand at London ’s Windmill Theatre, then as a comedian’s “feed.” Here they watch a scene from REACH FOR THE SKY – the film in which ex-stagehand More stars as Douglas Bader. Still by Charles Trigg

“REACH FOR THE SKY” is the epic story of Douglas Bader’s unparalleled courage. It stars KENNETH MORE as Bader, MURIEL PAVLOW, LYNDON BROOK and LEE PATERSON. A DANIEL ANGEL production, it was directed by LEWIS GILBERT. It was made at Pinewood Studios by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation.

1957 Film: “The Admirable Crichton” as Crichton

1957 Radio broadcast of Silver Jubilee of The Windmill Theatre

1958 Films: “A Night to Remember” as 2nd Officer Lightoller

“The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw” as Jonatha Tibbs

1959 Television: This is Your Life

Kenneth More was the subject of a This is Your Life programme, hosted by Eamonn Andrews.

Among the guests on the programme were Dirk Bogarde, Sally Ann Howes, Kay Kendall and Peter Ustinov.

1959 Films: “The Thirty-Nine Steps” as Richard Hannay

 “North West Frontier” as Captain Scott

1960 Films: “Sink the Bismarck” as Captain Jonathan Shepard

“Next to No Time” as David Webb

 “The Man in the Moon” as William Blood

1961 Stage:  “The Angry Deep” – Director. (Jan, T. Royal, Brighton)

Film: “The Greengage Summer” as Eliot

1962 Films: “We Joined the Navy” as Commander Badger

 “Some People” as Mr Smith

 “The Longest Day” as Captain Colin Maud

TV: “Heart to Heart” as David Mann (TV Movie)  

1963 Stage:   “Out of the Crocodile” as Peter Pounce. (Oct, Phoenix Theatre)

Film: “The Comedy Man” as Chick Byrd

TV: “Talking Sport”

Co-guest with Michael Bentine on Talking Sport 1963 copyright BBC

1964 Stage:  “Our Man Crichton” – musical, as Crichton. (Dec, Shaftesbury Theatre)

1965 Film: “The Collector” – Uncredited appearance

1966 TV: “Final Demand” – TV Movie

1967 TV: “The Forsyte Saga” as Jolyon Forsyte

 “The White Rabbit” as Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas

Wing-Commander Yeo-Thomas was the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent code-named The White Rabbit in World War 2.  His sphere of operations was Occupied and Vichy France, and while liaising with the Resistance in Paris, “Tommy” was betrayed, taken to the Gestapo at 84 Avenue Foch for interrogation and subjected to brutal torture.  After stints in several prisons and many escape attempts, he ended up in Buchenwald concentration camp, from which he eventually escaped in 1945.

Kenneth More gave an outstanding performance in this mini-series - felt by many to be the very best work he ever did.  Sadly it no longer exists.  The film copyright was held by Hal Chester, who originally refused to let the BBC make the series in case he decided to make a feature film himself.

The then controller of BBC features, David Attenborough, persuaded  Hal Chester to allow a TV mini-series to be filmed on condition that it was  shown just once, would not be sold abroad, and that the tapes would be destroyed after transmission.

(Information supplied by Michael Taylor)

1968 Stage:  “The Secretary Bird” as Hugh Walford. (Oct, Savoy Theatre)

Film: “The Mercenaries” as Dr Wreid

1969 Films: “The Betrayal” as Colonel Forman

 “The Battle of Britain” as Group Captain Baker

 “Oh! What a Lovely War!” as Kaiser Wilhelm II

1969 BBC TV: "If it Moves it's Rude".

This film featured Jimmy Edwards, Arthur English, Bruce Forsyth, Pearl Hackney, Stanley Holloway,

Alfred Marks, Des O 'Connor, Harry Secombe and Sheila Van Damm. The film was narrated
by Kenneth More.

1970 Stage:  “The Winslow Boy” as Sir Robert Morton. (Nov, New Theatre)

Film: “Scrooge” as Ghost of Christmas Present

1971 Stage:  “Getting On” as George Oliver (Oct, Queen’s Theatre)

1973 Stage:  “Signs of the Times” as Andrew Perry (June, Vaudeville Theatre)

1974 TV: “Father Brown” as Father Brown

1976 Films: “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” as Prof. Lindenbrock

 “The Slipper and the Rose” as Lord Chamberlain

1977 Stage:  “On Approval” as the Duke of Bristol.  (June, Vaudeville Theatre)

1978 Films: “Leopard in the Snow” as Sir Philip James

 “The Silent Witness” – Voice of Narrator

TV: “An Englishman’s Castle”

1979 Film: “The Spaceman and King Arthur” as King Arthur

1980 TV: “Tale of Two Cities” as Dr Jarvis Lorry (TV Movie)

BOOKS:  “Happy Go Lucky” (1959)

“Kindly Leave the Stage” (1965)

“More or Less” 1978.

NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS

1953 Nominated as Best British Actor (BAFTA) for “Genevieve”

1954 Won Best British Actor (BAFTA) for “Doctor in the House”

1955 Won Best Actor at Venice Film Festival for “The Deep Blue Sea”

Won Most Promising International Star (Variety Club)

Nominated Best British Actor (BAFTA) for “The Deep Blue Sea”

1956 Nominated Best British Actor for “Reach for the Sky”

1970 Awarded the CBE in the New Year’s Honours

Kenneth More made his first appearance at the Kenneth More 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.

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