Bill Kenwright
William Kenwright, CBE (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.
Bill Kenwright
23 October 2023 (aged 78)
Theatre and film producer
Actor and singer
Everton F.C. chairman
1960s–2023
1
Early life[edit]
Kenwright was born in Liverpool and attended Booker Avenue County Primary School,[1] and then Liverpool Institute High School for Boys[2] (predecessor to LIPA) from 1957 to 1964. He was treasurer of the Christian Union at school.[3]
Kenwright was a judge in the 2007 BBC One television series Any Dream Will Do.[4]
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.[5] It has been estimated that he employed more actors in a year than any employer other than the BBC.[6]
Kenwright also directed many productions, including Blood Brothers, Whistle Down the Wind; he was asked by Andrew Lloyd Webber to make changes to the direction of Love Never Dies. Bill Kenwright additionally produced & directed the 2018/19 UK touring production of Saturday Night Fever, in which Richard Winsor (as the preliminary Tony Manero) perceived the symbolic "Stayin' Alive" dance spectacle as "The Kneebreaker" & he gleefully presented the deceiving "Stage Pose" downgrade (created by Arlene Phillips in 1997).
Productions, mainly musicals, included:
Kenwright had his own record label (Bill Kenwright Records), which released a number of albums: the London Palladium cast recording of Scrooge (starring Tommy Steele) and the 2006 Lyric Theatre Recording of Cabaret were joined in February 2008 by the debut album of Kenwright's new boy group Dream On. BK Records also released Joe McElderry's 4th album Saturday Night at the Movies,[7] and a soundtrack of Joe singing Joseph and His Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Dream On, comprising five runners up from the BBC's Any Dream Will Do – Craig Chalmers, Lewis Bradley, Chris Crosby, Chris Barton and Antony Hansen was formed in January 2008.
Kenwright began his music career in a band known as the Chevrolets.[8] Perhaps less known is Kenwright's recording career both solo and with a group
Bill Kenwright and the Runaways:
and solo, as Bill Kenwright:
Kenwright tried his hand at record production in 1969, producing two singles for Manchester band Money, who also worked as his backing band for several cabaret gigs in Oldham and at Allinson's, Liverpool.[10] The first record, "Come Laughing Home", was the title music for Kenwright's first foray into theatrical production, with Reginald Marsh (also a star of Coronation Street) as co-producer. The show starred Anne Reid, who at the time was playing Valerie Barlow in Coronation Street. It was the first time a Coronation Street star had worked in live theatre whilst still acting in the series. The show opened at Blackpool's Grand Theatre. The single was also released in Argentina.
Honours[edit]
Kenwright received an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool's John Moores University and was an Honorary Professor of University of West London in London.
Kenwright was awarded the CBE for his services to film and theatre in the 2001 New Year Honours.[38][39]
In November 2008 he was awarded an Honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of his outstanding contribution and commitment to British theatre.[40]
On 3 January 2014, Kenwright appeared on the BBC show Pointless Celebrities. He and his partner Jenny Seagrove reached the final and won the Pointless trophy, but gave three incorrect answers and missed out on the £2,500 jackpot.