Identity area
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Person
Authorized form of name
Griffith, Kenneth, 1921-
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Description area
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History
Kenneth Griffith (b. 1921) is an eminent actor, writer and director. He was brought up by his grandparents in Tenby, co. Pembroke, educated in the local schools and left for London to become a professional actor in 1937. He has been married, and divorced, three times and has five children.
He has played many roles in films and television plays but his greatest achievements have been in the field of documentary film-making in which he developed a very distinctive style and method of working; researching, directing and often presenting his own documentaries. He made his documentary at the invitation of David Attenborough and Huw Wheldon in 1964, and formed his own company, Breakaway Productions Ltd, in 1982. He presents his own subjective point of view and his work is often regarded as controversial and has brought him into conflict with the establishment of the day on several occasions. Both his films on Irish history were banned from being broadcast for almost twenty years at the request of the IBA. Individuals studied by Kenneth Griffith include Cecil Rhodes, Napoleon, Michael Collins, David Ben Gurion and Zola Budd. He is closely associated with the Irish Republican movement, he is intensely interested in the postal history of the Boer War and is an honourary Untouchable. He lives in Islington, London.