Kenneth Colley

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

113

Gender

Male

Birthday

1937-12-07

Day of death

2025-06-30 (87 years old)

Place of Birth

Manchester, England, UK

Kenneth Colley

Biography

Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979). Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing". According to comments Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and co-starred with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley is a terrible stutterer in real life. When he had a role in a film, however, he could recite the lines perfectly. Stuttering is a character trait, however, in his role as the "Accordion Man" in the BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven (1978). He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • Midsomer Murders

    Midsomer Murders

  • Peaky Blinders

    Peaky Blinders

  • Agatha Christie's Poirot

    Agatha Christie's Poirot

  • Vera

    Vera

  • Foyle's War

    Foyle's War

  • Minder

    Minder

  • The Avengers

    The Avengers

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Heartbeat

    Heartbeat

  • New Tricks

    New Tricks

  • Play for Today

    Play for Today

  • Play for Today

    Play for Today

  • Relic Hunter

    Relic Hunter

  • Crown Court

    Crown Court

  • Inspector Morse

    Inspector Morse

  • Misfits

    Misfits

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • Omnibus

    Omnibus

  • Peak Practice

    Peak Practice

  • Wycliffe

    Wycliffe

  • The Wednesday Play

    The Wednesday Play

  • The Institute

    The Institute

  • No Hiding Place

    No Hiding Place

  • The Sweeney

    The Sweeney

  • How I Won the War

    How I Won the War

  • The Empire Strikes Back

    The Empire Strikes Back

  • The Devils

    The Devils

  • The Expert

    The Expert

  • The Expert

    The Expert

  • Return of the Jedi

    Return of the Jedi

  • LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

    LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

  • Life of Brian

    Life of Brian

  • Thirty-Minute Theatre

    Thirty-Minute Theatre

  • Return to Waterloo

    Return to Waterloo

  • Between the Lines

    Between the Lines

  • Mahler

    Mahler

  • The Protectors

    The Protectors

  • Les Misérables

    Les Misérables

  • The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

    The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

  • Solomon & Sheba

    Solomon & Sheba

  • Giro City

    Giro City

  • The Jokers

    The Jokers

  • Shadow Run

    Shadow Run

  • Lisztomania

    Lisztomania

  • Who Pays?

    Who Pays?

  • Jabberwocky

    Jabberwocky

  • Firefox

    Firefox

  • Unnatural Causes

    Unnatural Causes

  • Juggernaut

    Juggernaut

  • Brassed Off

    Brassed Off

  • The Rainbow

    The Rainbow

  • Pennies from Heaven

    Pennies from Heaven

  • The Kenny Everett Television Show

    The Kenny Everett Television Show

  • Fall of Eagles

    Fall of Eagles

  • Churchill's People

    Churchill's People

  • A Summer Story

    A Summer Story

  • Target

    Target

  • La Vie de Bohème

    La Vie de Bohème

  • The Plot to Kill Hitler

    The Plot to Kill Hitler

  • The Scarlet and the Black

    The Scarlet and the Black

  • The Queen

    The Queen

  • Casanova

    Casanova

  • Robert Rylands' Last Journey

    Robert Rylands' Last Journey

  • The Blood Beast Terror

    The Blood Beast Terror

  • I Hired a Contract Killer

    I Hired a Contract Killer

  • The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

    The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

  • Prisoner of Honor

    Prisoner of Honor

  • Like Father Like Son

    Like Father Like Son

  • The Whistle Blower

    The Whistle Blower

  • Mussolini: The Untold Story

    Mussolini: The Untold Story

  • Ripping Yarns

    Ripping Yarns

  • Hitler: The Last Ten Days

    Hitler: The Last Ten Days

  • The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

    The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

  • Dance of the Seven Veils

    Dance of the Seven Veils

  • One Bummer News Day

    One Bummer News Day

  • The Boy Friend

    The Boy Friend

  • Always and Everyone

    Always and Everyone

  • Peter and Paul

    Peter and Paul

  • Hold Back the Night

    Hold Back the Night

  • The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

    The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

  • The Informer

    The Informer

  • It's Dark Outside

    It's Dark Outside

  • Seventy Deadly Pills

    Seventy Deadly Pills

  • The Last Train

    The Last Train

  • Greetings

    Greetings

  • Dickens of London

    Dickens of London

  • The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

    The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

  • The Danedyke Mystery

    The Danedyke Mystery

  • Black and Blue

    Black and Blue

  • The Last Island

    The Last Island

  • Come the Revolution

    Come the Revolution

  • Performance

    Performance

  • The Music Lovers

    The Music Lovers

  • The Love School

    The Love School

  • A for Andromeda

    A for Andromeda

  • Three Clear Sundays

    Three Clear Sundays

  • The Triple Echo

    The Triple Echo

  • A Master of the Marionettes

    A Master of the Marionettes

  • Dear Mother... ...Love Albert

    Dear Mother... ...Love Albert

  • John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

    John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

  • Wallenberg: A Hero's Story

    Wallenberg: A Hero's Story

  • Judge Dee

    Judge Dee

  • Flame

    Flame

  • The Royal

    The Royal

  • I Remember Nelson

    I Remember Nelson

  • Dan Hawk Psychic Detective

    Dan Hawk Psychic Detective

  • Measure for Measure

    Measure for Measure

  • Kremlin Farewell

    Kremlin Farewell

  • I Remember Nelson

    I Remember Nelson

  • Scar Tissue

    Scar Tissue

  • Three Days in Szczecin

    Three Days in Szczecin