Bill Kenwright

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 employed more actors in a year than any employer other than the BBC.