Kenneth Gilbert More CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was a highly successful English film actor[1] during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman. As More himself described it, "I seem fated to be either the stiff-upper-lip war hero or the hearty back-slapping idiot".
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Early life
Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the only son of Charles Gilbert More, a Royal Naval Air Service pilot, and Edith Winifred Watkins, the daughter of a Cardiff solicitor. He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey. He spent part of his childhood in the Channel Islands, where his father was general manager of the Jersey Eastern Railway. After he left school, he followed the family tradition by training as a civil engineer. He gave up his training and worked for a while in Sainsbury's.
When More was 17 his father died, and he applied to join the RAF, but failed the medical test for equilibrium. He went to Canada, intending to work as a fur trapper, but was sent back for lacking immigration papers.
Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the only son of Charles Gilbert More, a Royal Naval Air Service pilot, and Edith Winifred Watkins, the daughter of a Cardiff solicitor. He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey. He spent part of his childhood in the Channel Islands, where his father was general manager of the Jersey Eastern Railway. After he left school, he followed the family tradition by training as a civil engineer. He gave up his training and worked for a while in Sainsbury's.
When More was 17 his father died, and he applied to join the RAF, but failed the medical test for equilibrium. He went to Canada, intending to work as a fur trapper, but was sent back for lacking immigration papers.
Acting career
On his return, a family friend, Vivian Van Damm, took him on as assistant manager at the Windmill Theatre, where his job included spotting audience members misbehaving or using opera glasses to look at the nude players during its Revudevillevariety shows.[3] He was soon promoted to playing straight man in the Revudeville comedy routines, appearing in his first sketch in August 1935. He played there for a year, which then led to regular work in repertory, including Newcastle, performing in plays such as Burke and Hare and Dracula's Daughter. He continued this work until World War II, during which time he served as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, seeing active service aboard the cruiser HMS Aurora and the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious, returning to acting in 1946.
On his return, a family friend, Vivian Van Damm, took him on as assistant manager at the Windmill Theatre, where his job included spotting audience members misbehaving or using opera glasses to look at the nude players during its Revudevillevariety shows.[3] He was soon promoted to playing straight man in the Revudeville comedy routines, appearing in his first sketch in August 1935. He played there for a year, which then led to regular work in repertory, including Newcastle, performing in plays such as Burke and Hare and Dracula's Daughter. He continued this work until World War II, during which time he served as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, seeing active service aboard the cruiser HMS Aurora and the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious, returning to acting in 1946.
Film career
On demobilization he went to work for Wolverhampton repertory, then appeared on stage in the West End in And No Birds Sing (1946), then played Badger in a TV adaptation of Toad of Toad Hall. He was seen by Noël Coward playing a small role on stage in Power Without Glory (1947), which led to being cast in Peace In Our Time (1947).[4]
Around this time, More began appearing in films, starting with a small role in Scott of the Antarctic (1948) for which he was paid ₤500. His parts grew bigger and he achieved a notable stage success in The Way Things Go (1950) with Ronald Squire, from whom More later claimed he learned his stage technique. [2] Roland Culver recommended More audition for a part in a new play by Terence Rattigan, The Deep Blue Sea (1952); he was successful and achieved tremendous critical acclaim in the role of Freddie.
On demobilization he went to work for Wolverhampton repertory, then appeared on stage in the West End in And No Birds Sing (1946), then played Badger in a TV adaptation of Toad of Toad Hall. He was seen by Noël Coward playing a small role on stage in Power Without Glory (1947), which led to being cast in Peace In Our Time (1947).[4]
Around this time, More began appearing in films, starting with a small role in Scott of the Antarctic (1948) for which he was paid ₤500. His parts grew bigger and he achieved a notable stage success in The Way Things Go (1950) with Ronald Squire, from whom More later claimed he learned his stage technique. [2] Roland Culver recommended More audition for a part in a new play by Terence Rattigan, The Deep Blue Sea (1952); he was successful and achieved tremendous critical acclaim in the role of Freddie.
Decline
For a number of years More remained a large star in Britain, enjoying noble success with Sink the Bismarck! (1960). However box office receipts started to decline for films such as Man In The Moon (1960) and Some People (1962). He tried to change his image with The Comedy Man(1963) which the public did not like, although it became his favourite role. His film parts got smaller in the 1960s, with some thinking his popularity declined when he left his wife to live with Angela Douglas.[11] Film writer Andrew Spicer thought that "More's persona was so strongly associated with traditional middle-class values that his stardom could not survive the shift towards working-class iconoclasts" during that decade.[12]
More appeared in a 35 minute prologue to The Collector (1965) at the special request of director William Wyler however it ended up being removed entirely from the final film. [2] In 1968 he had a supporting role in the gritty war film Dark of the Sun. He made a number of cameos in such war films as The Longest Day (1962), Battle of Britain (1969), and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969).
For a number of years More remained a large star in Britain, enjoying noble success with Sink the Bismarck! (1960). However box office receipts started to decline for films such as Man In The Moon (1960) and Some People (1962). He tried to change his image with The Comedy Man(1963) which the public did not like, although it became his favourite role. His film parts got smaller in the 1960s, with some thinking his popularity declined when he left his wife to live with Angela Douglas.[11] Film writer Andrew Spicer thought that "More's persona was so strongly associated with traditional middle-class values that his stardom could not survive the shift towards working-class iconoclasts" during that decade.[12]
More appeared in a 35 minute prologue to The Collector (1965) at the special request of director William Wyler however it ended up being removed entirely from the final film. [2] In 1968 he had a supporting role in the gritty war film Dark of the Sun. He made a number of cameos in such war films as The Longest Day (1962), Battle of Britain (1969), and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969).
Revival
More's popularity recovered in the 1960s through West End stage performances and television roles, especially following his success in The Forsyte Saga, and as the title character in ATV's 1974 Father Brown.[13] Critic David Shipman said his personal notices for his performance in The Secretary Bird (1968) "must be among the best accorded any light comedian during this century".[14] He is also known for his role as the Ghost of Christmas Present in 1970's Scrooge.
More stood in the wings to replace Bernard Lee as M in the James Bond film Live and Let Die when it was not known if an ill Lee would be able to appear.
More's popularity recovered in the 1960s through West End stage performances and television roles, especially following his success in The Forsyte Saga, and as the title character in ATV's 1974 Father Brown.[13] Critic David Shipman said his personal notices for his performance in The Secretary Bird (1968) "must be among the best accorded any light comedian during this century".[14] He is also known for his role as the Ghost of Christmas Present in 1970's Scrooge.
More stood in the wings to replace Bernard Lee as M in the James Bond film Live and Let Die when it was not known if an ill Lee would be able to appear.
Personal life
More was married three times. His first marriage in 1939 to actress Beryl Johnstone (one daughter, Susan, born 1941) ended in divorce in 1946. He married Mabel Edith "Bill" Barkby in 1952 (one daughter, Sarah, born 1954) but left her in 1968 for Angela Douglas, an actress 26 years his junior, causing considerable estrangement from friends and family. He was married to Douglas (whom he nicknamed "Shrimp")[3] from 17 March 1968 until his death.
Kenneth More published two autobiographies, Happy Go Lucky in 1959 and More or Less in 1978. In the second book he related how he had had since childhood a recurrent dream of something akin to a huge wasp descending towards him. During the war he experienced a Nazi Stuka bomber descending in just such a manner. After that he claimed never to have had that dream again. Producer Danny Angel successfully sued More for libel over comments made in his second autobiography in 1980.[15]
More and Douglas were separated for several years during the 1970s but reunited when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[15] He died of the disease on 12 July 1982, aged 67, and was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium.
The Kenneth More Theatre, named in his honour, is in Ilford, London.
More was married three times. His first marriage in 1939 to actress Beryl Johnstone (one daughter, Susan, born 1941) ended in divorce in 1946. He married Mabel Edith "Bill" Barkby in 1952 (one daughter, Sarah, born 1954) but left her in 1968 for Angela Douglas, an actress 26 years his junior, causing considerable estrangement from friends and family. He was married to Douglas (whom he nicknamed "Shrimp")[3] from 17 March 1968 until his death.
Kenneth More published two autobiographies, Happy Go Lucky in 1959 and More or Less in 1978. In the second book he related how he had had since childhood a recurrent dream of something akin to a huge wasp descending towards him. During the war he experienced a Nazi Stuka bomber descending in just such a manner. After that he claimed never to have had that dream again. Producer Danny Angel successfully sued More for libel over comments made in his second autobiography in 1980.[15]
More and Douglas were separated for several years during the 1970s but reunited when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[15] He died of the disease on 12 July 1982, aged 67, and was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium.
The Kenneth More Theatre, named in his honour, is in Ilford, London.
Appraisal
More's skill as a performer has been highly regarded by critics such as David Shipman. Regarding his performance in The Admirable Crichton, Shipman said that:
It wasn't just that he had superb comic timing: one could see absolutely why the family trusted their fates to him. No other British actor had come so close to that dependable, reliable quality of the great Hollywood stars - you would trust him through thick and thin. And he was more humorous than, say, Gary Cooper, more down-to-earth than, say, Cary Grant.
More's skill as a performer has been highly regarded by critics such as David Shipman. Regarding his performance in The Admirable Crichton, Shipman said that:
It wasn't just that he had superb comic timing: one could see absolutely why the family trusted their fates to him. No other British actor had come so close to that dependable, reliable quality of the great Hollywood stars - you would trust him through thick and thin. And he was more humorous than, say, Gary Cooper, more down-to-earth than, say, Cary Grant.
Filmography
Look Up and Laugh (1935) (uncredited bit part)
Bottle Party (1936) billed as "Ken More"
Windmill Revels (1937) (uncredited bit part)
Carry On London (1937) (bit part)
The Silence of the Sea (1946) (TV)
School for Secrets (1946)
Toad of Toad Hall (1946) (TV) as Badger
Scott of the Antarctic (1948)
Man on the Run (1949)
Now Barabbas (1949)
Stop Press Girl (1949)
Morning Departure (1950)
Chance of a Lifetime (1950)
The Clouded Yellow (1951)
The Franchise Affair (1951)
The Galloping Major (1951)
No Highway (1951) (uncredited)
Appointment with Venus (1951)
Brandy for the Parson (1952)
The Yellow Balloon (1953)
Never Let Me Go (1953)
Genevieve (1953)
Our Girl Friday (1953)
Doctor in the House (1954)
The Deep Blue Sea (1954) (BBC TV)
The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955) (voice)
Raising a Riot (1955)
The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
Reach for the Sky (1956) as Douglas Bader
The Admirable Crichton (1957)
The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958)
A Night to Remember (1958) as Charles Lightoller
Next to No Time (1958)
North West Frontier (1959)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1959) as Richard Hannay
Sink the Bismarck! (1960)
Man in the Moon (1960)
The Greengage Summer (1961)
We Joined the Navy (1962)
Heart to Heart (1962) (TV)
Some People (1962)
The Longest Day (1962) as Colin Maud
The Comedy Man (1964)
The Collector (1965) (uncredited)
Lord Raingo (1966) (TV)
The Forsyte Saga (1967) (TV)
The White Rabbit (1967) (TV)
Dark of the Sun, also known as The Mercenaries (1968)
Fräulein Doktor (1969)
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
Battle of Britain (1969)
Scrooge (1970)
Father Brown (1974) (TV)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1976)
Viaje al centro de la Tierra (1978)
The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976)
Leopard in the Snow (1978)
An Englishman's Castle (1978) (TV)
The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979) as King Arthur
A Tale of Two Cities (1980) (TV)
Look Up and Laugh (1935) (uncredited bit part)
Bottle Party (1936) billed as "Ken More"
Windmill Revels (1937) (uncredited bit part)
Carry On London (1937) (bit part)
The Silence of the Sea (1946) (TV)
School for Secrets (1946)
Toad of Toad Hall (1946) (TV) as Badger
Scott of the Antarctic (1948)
Man on the Run (1949)
Now Barabbas (1949)
Stop Press Girl (1949)
Morning Departure (1950)
Chance of a Lifetime (1950)
The Clouded Yellow (1951)
The Franchise Affair (1951)
The Galloping Major (1951)
No Highway (1951) (uncredited)
Appointment with Venus (1951)
Brandy for the Parson (1952)
The Yellow Balloon (1953)
Never Let Me Go (1953)
Genevieve (1953)
Our Girl Friday (1953)
Doctor in the House (1954)
The Deep Blue Sea (1954) (BBC TV)
The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955) (voice)
Raising a Riot (1955)
The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
Reach for the Sky (1956) as Douglas Bader
The Admirable Crichton (1957)
The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958)
A Night to Remember (1958) as Charles Lightoller
Next to No Time (1958)
North West Frontier (1959)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1959) as Richard Hannay
Sink the Bismarck! (1960)
Man in the Moon (1960)
The Greengage Summer (1961)
We Joined the Navy (1962)
Heart to Heart (1962) (TV)
Some People (1962)
The Longest Day (1962) as Colin Maud
The Comedy Man (1964)
The Collector (1965) (uncredited)
Lord Raingo (1966) (TV)
The Forsyte Saga (1967) (TV)
The White Rabbit (1967) (TV)
Dark of the Sun, also known as The Mercenaries (1968)
Fräulein Doktor (1969)
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
Battle of Britain (1969)
Scrooge (1970)
Father Brown (1974) (TV)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1976)
Viaje al centro de la Tierra (1978)
The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976)
Leopard in the Snow (1978)
An Englishman's Castle (1978) (TV)
The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979) as King Arthur
A Tale of Two Cities (1980) (TV)
Writings
Happy Go Lucky (1959)
Kindly Leave the Stage (1965)
More or Less (1978)[edit]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
1955 Won Most Promising International Star (Variety Club)
1955 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[edit]Box Office Ranking
British exhibitors regularly voted More one of the most popular stars at the local box office in an annual poll conducted by the Motion Picture Herald:[2]
1954 - 5th most popular British star
1955 - 5th most popular British star
1956 - most popular international star[16]
1957 - 2nd most popular international star
1958 - 3rd most popular international star
1959 - most popular British star
1960 - most popular international star
1961 - 3rd most popular international star
1962 - 4th most popular international star
Happy Go Lucky (1959)
Kindly Leave the Stage (1965)
More or Less (1978)[edit]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
1955 Won Most Promising International Star (Variety Club)
1955 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[edit]Box Office Ranking
British exhibitors regularly voted More one of the most popular stars at the local box office in an annual poll conducted by the Motion Picture Herald:[2]
1954 - 5th most popular British star
1955 - 5th most popular British star
1956 - most popular international star[16]
1957 - 2nd most popular international star
1958 - 3rd most popular international star
1959 - most popular British star
1960 - most popular international star
1961 - 3rd most popular international star
1962 - 4th most popular international star
