Briton Kenneth More had set his cap upon becoming a civil engineer, but the death of his father, which left behind a legacy of debts, ended that dream. After working as a Canadian fur trapper, More decided to give acting a try; his first professional stint was as a straight man at London's Windmill Theatre, a popular "burleycue" house specializing in smutty comics and scantily clad damsels. After serving in World War II as a naval lieutenant, More began building a reputation as a reliable leading man in both London and regional repertory. His official screen debut was 1948's Scott of the Antarctic, though he'd played bits in a brace of '30s films. With his lead performance in Genevieve (1953), More established himself as a topnotch comic actor, essaying the sort of bemused, ingenuous roles that would years later become the personal property of Hugh Grant. More won the BFA award for his performance in Doctor in the House (1954), the first of several popular Doctor comedies produced over the next decade. Despite his success in laughspinners, More's favorite role was his dramatic turn in 1955's The Deep Blue Sea. In the 1960s, More starred as Jolyon Forsyte on the international TV smash The Forsyte Saga. Amidst his many film, TV, and theatrical performances, More found time to write no fewer than three volumes of memoirs. Kenneth More's last film appearance was as a jovial King Arthur in Disney's Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979); he died three years later, of Parkinson's disease.
by Hal Erickson
biography
