Kenneth Colley

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

112

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

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Agatha Christie's Poirot

    Agatha Christie's Poirot

  • Vera

    Vera

  • Minder

    Minder

  • Heartbeat

    Heartbeat

  • Play for Today

    Play for Today

  • Play for Today

    Play for Today

  • The Avengers

    The Avengers

  • Crown Court

    Crown Court

  • Peak Practice

    Peak Practice

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • No Hiding Place

    No Hiding Place

  • Foyle's War

    Foyle's War

  • New Tricks

    New Tricks

  • Relic Hunter

    Relic Hunter

  • The Institute

    The Institute

  • Inspector Morse

    Inspector Morse

  • The Sweeney

    The Sweeney

  • Misfits

    Misfits

  • Omnibus

    Omnibus

  • The Wednesday Play

    The Wednesday Play

  • Wycliffe

    Wycliffe

  • Thirty-Minute Theatre

    Thirty-Minute Theatre

  • The Expert

    The Expert

  • The Expert

    The Expert

  • Return of the Jedi

    Return of the Jedi

  • The Empire Strikes Back

    The Empire Strikes Back

  • The Protectors

    The Protectors

  • The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

    The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

  • Between the Lines

    Between the Lines

  • The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

    The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

  • The Whistle Blower

    The Whistle Blower

  • Life of Brian

    Life of Brian

  • The Kenny Everett Television Show

    The Kenny Everett Television Show

  • A Summer Story

    A Summer Story

  • The Blood Beast Terror

    The Blood Beast Terror

  • Target

    Target

  • The Plot to Kill Hitler

    The Plot to Kill Hitler

  • Shadow Run

    Shadow Run

  • Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

    Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

  • How I Won the War

    How I Won the War

  • The Scarlet and the Black

    The Scarlet and the Black

  • Fall of Eagles

    Fall of Eagles

  • Les Misérables

    Les Misérables

  • Prisoner of Honor

    Prisoner of Honor

  • Seventy Deadly Pills

    Seventy Deadly Pills

  • Return to Waterloo

    Return to Waterloo

  • The Devils

    The Devils

  • The Danedyke Mystery

    The Danedyke Mystery

  • Solomon & Sheba

    Solomon & Sheba

  • Hold Back the Night

    Hold Back the Night

  • Black and Blue

    Black and Blue

  • Dickens of London

    Dickens of London

  • One Bummer News Day

    One Bummer News Day

  • Performance

    Performance

  • Hazell

    Hazell

  • The Rainbow

    The Rainbow

  • I Hired a Contract Killer

    I Hired a Contract Killer

  • Firefox

    Firefox

  • Always and Everyone

    Always and Everyone

  • Peter and Paul

    Peter and Paul

  • The Jokers

    The Jokers

  • Mussolini: The Untold Story

    Mussolini: The Untold Story

  • The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

    The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

  • Who Pays?

    Who Pays?

  • Juggernaut

    Juggernaut

  • Pennies from Heaven

    Pennies from Heaven

  • It's Dark Outside

    It's Dark Outside

  • Brassed Off

    Brassed Off

  • Lisztomania

    Lisztomania

  • Dance of the Seven Veils

    Dance of the Seven Veils

  • Robert Rylands' Last Journey

    Robert Rylands' Last Journey

  • The Informer

    The Informer

  • The Queen

    The Queen

  • Come the Revolution

    Come the Revolution

  • The Love School

    The Love School

  • Dear Mother... ...Love Albert

    Dear Mother... ...Love Albert

  • Ripping Yarns

    Ripping Yarns

  • Unnatural Causes

    Unnatural Causes

  • Jabberwocky

    Jabberwocky

  • Like Father Like Son

    Like Father Like Son

  • A for Andromeda

    A for Andromeda

  • Mahler

    Mahler

  • The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

    The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

  • Three Clear Sundays

    Three Clear Sundays

  • La Vie de Bohème

    La Vie de Bohème

  • The Last Train

    The Last Train

  • The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

    The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

  • Hitler: The Last Ten Days

    Hitler: The Last Ten Days

  • Giro City

    Giro City

  • Scar Tissue

    Scar Tissue

  • Wallenberg: A Hero's Story

    Wallenberg: A Hero's Story

  • John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

    John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

  • The Triple Echo

    The Triple Echo

  • The Last Island

    The Last Island

  • The Royal

    The Royal

  • Casanova

    Casanova

  • The Boy Friend

    The Boy Friend

  • Judge Dee

    Judge Dee

  • The Music Lovers

    The Music Lovers

  • A Master of the Marionettes

    A Master of the Marionettes

  • I Remember Nelson

    I Remember Nelson

  • Measure for Measure

    Measure for Measure

  • I Remember Nelson

    I Remember Nelson

  • Greetings

    Greetings

  • Kremlin Farewell

    Kremlin Farewell

  • Dan Hawk Psychic Detective

    Dan Hawk Psychic Detective

  • Flame

    Flame