Review
More, Please! offers unique insight into Kenneth More CBE
A new book on the life of Kenneth More CBE - pictured with North West Frontier co-star Lauren Bacall - has been released. - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
New book More, Please! offers a poignant insight into the colourful life of one of Britain’s biggest stars - Kenneth More CBE - whose name adorns Ilford’s much-loved theatre.
Yet part of what drove the author, Nick Pourgourides, to pen this account was the nagging sense that the BAFTA award-winning actor – affectionately known as Kenny More – is not remembered with the reverence his cultural success warrants.
More, Please! documents a childhood of transience and occasional adversity. Financial woes and a scarring stint at boarding school saw Kenneth grow up quickly, compounded by the premature death of his father in 1931.
The book dovetails expertly between the author’s account of his “childhood hero” and exclusively republished excerpts from Kenneth’s final autobiography, More or Less.
A 20-year-old Kenneth narrates the exact moment when his stardom was born - a chance decision that saw him ask for a job at the Windmill Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue. The audacious request was granted – on the now-ironic promise that he never become an actor – and an iconic career was born.
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The other factor which drove Nick – an entertainment publicist by trade – to write More, Please! relates to his ultimately unsuccessful efforts to find information on his late grandfather (who he never met).
This prompted the author to write: “What’s worse than dying? To be forgotten by the world you once lived in?”
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To ensure nothing approaching this fate would befall Kenneth, Nick set about gathering every possible detail on his life, visiting the Ilford theatre as part of his research.
This tigerish approach offers More, Please! its uniquely personal insight, exemplified by the inclusion of introductions written by Kenneth’s wife Angela, as well as daughters Jane and Sarah.
A close bond with Angela particularly rises off the page, with the final book only possible by relationships of complete trust.
Of the legend, Nick said: “I knew who he was on screen, but I wanted to get to know the man behind the public persona. I feel I have now achieved that with this book.”
Released December 10, More, Please! is available on Amazon.
For further information, please visit KennethMore.com.
