Bill Kenwright, who was a producer in the West End and served as chairman of Everton Football Club for a lengthy period of time, passed away at the age of 78.
Everton Football Club is in sorrow following the death of Chairman Bill Kenwright CBE, the club announced in a post on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. The statement read: "Everton Football Club is in mourning following the death of Chairman Bill Kenwright CBE, who passed away peacefully last night aged 78, surrounded by his family and loved ones."
The entrepreneur was born in Liverpool, but he established his reputation in the arts, beginning his career as an actor with a breakthrough part in the British soap opera Coronation Street. His character, Gordon Clegg, was an enterprising businessman.
But Kenwright's own knack for business would show that entrepreneurship was his genuine destiny.
After switching careers from acting in front of the camera to working behind the scenes, he went on to become one of the most successful film and theater producers in Britain.
Throughout his career, he was involved with the production of a number of critically acclaimed works, such as the musical Blood Brothers by Willy Russell and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
However, in the neighborhoods of his birthplace, he was best known as the long-term chairman of the team he played for as a child, Everton.Kenwright was influenced greatly as a boy by his hero, Everton forward Dave Hickson, who was born and raised in the Wavertree neighborhood of Liverpool, which is less than five miles away from the club's stadium.
In 1989, he was extended an invitation to become a member of the board of directors at Goodison Park, where he eventually advanced to the position of deputy chairman before completing a £20 million buyout in 1999.
He was given the position of chairman in 2004, and the following year, the team qualified for the Champions League under the direction of David Moyes, who was serving as manager at the time. This brought an end to an almost 10-year wait for European football at the club.
In 2016, Kenwright sold half of his ownership in Everton to British-Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri; nonetheless, Kenwright continued to serve as chairman of the club after the transaction. During the subsequent six years, Mr. Moshiri made consistent efforts to enhance his own ownership.
However, in September, he reached an agreement with the American investment fund 777 Partners to sell his 94% ownership in the company. The transaction is still seeking approval from the relevant authorities.Everton made the announcement earlier this month that Kenwright had surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his liver. The operation was performed earlier this month.
The club issued a statement at the time saying that the procedure had been "completely successful," but that Kenwright will need to spend "a prolonged period in an intensive care unit."
The club stated that Kenwright had "worked hard" alongside Mr. Moshiri "right up until the day" of his operation in order to assist in facilitating the potential takeover of the club by 777 Partners.
In the beginning of this year, Mr. Moshiri supported Kenwright in the midst of demonstrations by Everton supporters directed against the club's long-term chairman and the ownership.
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