Kenneth Kendall
Kenneth Kendall | |
---|---|
Born | Treasure Hunt | 7 August 1924
Partner | Mark Fear |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1942–1946 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | Coldstream Guards |
Kenneth Kendall (7 August 1924 – 14 December 2012)
Early life
Kendall was born in India where his father, Frederic William Kendall (d. 30 May 1945), worked.[2] He was brought up in Cornwall. Kendall was educated at Felsted School in Essex, England. He read Modern Languages at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, for one year before being called up to the British Army.
Military service
Kendall joined the
Broadcasting career
After leaving the army, Kendall returned to Oxford to complete his Modern Language degree. He hoped to join the
Kendall became known for his elegant dress sense and was voted best-dressed newsreader by Style International and No.1 newscaster by
He rejoined the BBC in 1969 and finally retired from newsreading on 23 December 1981.
Later life
Soon after retirement from news reading, Kendall lent his voice to the BBC Micro as part of Acorn Computers' hardware speech synthesis system.[6]
In 2010 he took part in BBC's series The Young Ones in which six well-known people in their 70s and 80s attempt to overcome some of the problems of ageing by harking back to the 1970s.[7]
Personal life
Kendall lived in Cowes on the Isle of Wight with his partner Mark Fear, whom he had been with since 1989. Fear was the owner of a marine art gallery and a beekeeper. The couple entered into a civil partnership in 2006.[8]
Death
Kendall died on 14 December 2012, following a stroke a few weeks previously.[1] On 29 April 2013, his partner Mark Fear was found hanged aged 55. An inquest concluded that he had died by suicide because he was "overcome by grief".[9]
Filmography
- The Reckless Moment (1949) – Man (uncredited)
- The Day The Earth Stood Still(1951) – TV Newscaster (uncredited)
- Scotland Yard Evidence in Concrete (1961) – TV news reader on Decca television screen
- The Brain (1962) – TV Newscaster (uncredited)
- Doctor Who: The War Machines (1966) – Himself (Credited, TV cameo)
- They Came from Beyond Space (1967) – Commentator
- The Exorcism – from the Dead of Night BBC TV series. (1972) (Credited)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey(1968) – BBC-12 Announcer (uncredited)
References
- ^ a b "Kenneth Kendall, former broadcaster, dies". BBC. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
- ^ "Ancestry.com. England, Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790–1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010". Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ Dennis Barker Obituary: Kenneth Kendall, The Guardian, 14 December 2012
- ^ Obituary of John Inman – 'The Independent' newspaper
- ^ "Kenneth Kendall quits in anger". The Herald. Glasgow. 22 December 1981. p. 1.
- ^ "Acorn Speech Synthesiser upgrade at". Retro-kit.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ "BBC One – The Young Ones". BBC. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ "Kenneth Kendall". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Kenneth Kendall's partner committed suicide 'overcome by grief'". BBC News. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.