Bill kenwright biography

Very sad to read that Bill Kenwright has left us at the age of 78. Always found him an open and humorous individual. I first interviewed him in 2008 when he gave me a rare insight into his early days as he celebrated four decades in the business, including memories of his Coronation Street debut as an actor…

Top of the Bill after 40 years

JOSEPH And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Blood Brothers – the two productions that, as he celebrates 40 years as a producer, the UK’s most prolific theatrical impresario considers the jewels of his repertoire.

“It would be difficult to say which is closest to my heart. One week it’s Joseph, the next Blood Brothers,” confesses Bill Kenwright. “How blessed am I to have those two musicals? I just love them so much.”

Four decades in any business is a major milestone and one the Liverpudlian gives the impression has sneaked up on him. Hardly surprising as he’s never been busier, currently juggling four West End plays, nine touring shows, productions on Broadway, a dollars 37million movie and “the other 300 or 400 shows” that are in his “brain at any one time”.

“There ain’t no secret,” he says when asked about the longevity of his success. “All I’ve ever believed, from the age of five when I wanted to be Alan Ladd in Shane, is that if you work harder than the next man, you have a bloody good chance of doing better than him.

“I’ve worked seven days a week all my life – 14 hours days. If you do that, and he or she up above gives you a little bit of luck, then that’s all you can do. But you’ve got to use that luck.”

It’s a strategy that has paid off, although Kenwright, who is also chairman of Everton Football Club, insists that he has never had an endgame.

“People ask, ‘How do you do so much?’ Do you know what I do? I think an awful lot. I give myself time to think. I’ve always been a thinker, a plotter and a planner. There’s never been a real endgame in my life, other than wanti

English businessman, theatre producer and actor (1945–2023)

William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023.

Early life

Kenwright was born in Liverpool and attended Booker Avenue County Primary School, and then Liverpool Institute High School for Boys (predecessor to LIPA) from 1957 to 1964. He was treasurer of the Christian Union at school.

Kenwright was a judge in the 2007 BBC One television series Any Dream Will Do.

Theatre

As a theatre producer, Kenwright is best known for the long-running West End hit Blood Brothers and the record-breaking UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Other productions have included West End runs of Whistle Down the Wind at the Palace Theatre, Festen in London, on a UK tour and on Broadway, The Big Life, Elmina's Kitchen, Scrooge – The Musical, The Night of the Iguana, A Few Good Men, A Man For All Seasons alongside UK tours of Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, Tell Me on a Sunday and This is Elvis. He produced the London revival of Cabaret at the Lyric Theatre in September 2006, starring Anna Maxwell Martin, James Dreyfus and Sheila Hancock.

Kenwright helped start the careers of many current West End theatre producers, including Mark Rubinstein and Marc Sinden. It has been estimated that he e

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright, an acclaimed West End theatre and film producer, has died at the age of 78.

Kenwright had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his liver eight weeks ago.

He had been on the board at Everton since 1989, taking over as chairman at Goodison Park in 2004.

The Liverpudlian was also one of the UK's most successful theatre producers and played Gordon Clegg in Coronation Street between 1968 and 2012.

Kenwright was awarded a CBE for his services to film and theatre in the 2001 New Years Honours List.

Everton said it was "in mourning" following the death of the club's longest-serving chairman for more than a century.

"The club has lost a chairman, a leader, a friend, and an inspiration," Everton added.

On 12 October, the Premier League club said Kenwright had a cancerous tumour removed from his liver six weeks before.

Everton said the operation was "completely successful", but complications meant Kenwright required a "prolonged period in an intensive care unit".

Announcing his death on Tuesday, Kenwright's family said he "passed away peacefully" on Monday night "surrounded by his family and loved ones".

"Bill was driven by his passions and devoted his life to them; his deep love of theatre, film, music and his beloved Everton, and the families they created," a family statement read.

"He impacted the lives of thousands, whether that be through the launching of careers or his unending loyalty, generosity and unfaltering friendship and support."

In a multiple award-winning career spanning six decades, Kenwright produced more than 500 West End, Broadway, UK touring and international theatre productions, films and music albums.

"We will remember him with huge love and admiration - the shows will of course go on, as he would have wished, and his towering legacy