Affable, Bright and Breezy Kenneth More Epitomised the Traditional English Virtues of Fortitude

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 one of Britain's most popular film stars and had appeared in a string of box office hits.

Born in Buckinghamshire on the 20th September 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."

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;

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."

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

Films such as _Northwest Frontier (1959)_ and _Sink the Bismarck (1960)_ kept More at the top although his favourite role was as the down at heel actor in Greengage Summer, The (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!"

More's favorite role was his dramatic turn in 1955's The Deep Blue Sea.

Perhaps his most memorable film is Reach for the Sky and his portal of Douglas Bader. Not an easy charcter to play I would think but More manages admirably as one would expect. The scene with the nurse is genuinely touching. The film captures the very determined spirit of Bader as he struggles to come to terms with his appalling injuries and few other actors could have carried it so well and Kennethg More.

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."

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