Bill Kenwright joined Everton's board in 1989 and became chairman in 2004
(Image credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has passed away at the age of 78.
Diagnosed with cancer in 2015, Kenwright was recently admitted to intensive care, following complications during an operation to remove a tumour from his liver. Everton recently released a statement that he had been discharged and was expecting to make a "lengthy but complete recovery". The club announced his passing on Tuesday.
“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,” a club statement said.
Bill Kenwright appeared in Coronation Street during his youth (Image credit: Brian Taylor/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
A boyhood Everton fan, Kenwright had an acting career in his youth in which he played Gordon Clegg in ITV soap Coronation Street. He later became a theatre producer, best associated with West End hits Blood Brothers and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, appearing on 2007 BBC One series Any Dream Will Do as a judge.
Kenwright was invited onto the Goodison Park board in 1989, becoming Everton's majority shareholder in 1999 and succeeding Littlewoods director Philip Carter in the role of chairman five years after that.
In 2016, Kenwright sold the majority of his Toffees stake to Farhad Moshiri, who kept him as chairman.
The Liverpudlian last attended Goodison on January 3, amid fan protests over Moshiri and the board.
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
