Kenneth Colley

Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 – 30 June 2025) was an English film and television actor whose career spanned over 60 years. He came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), as well as his roles in the films of Ken Russell and as Jesus in Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Early life and career

Colley was born on 7 December 1937 in Manchester.<ref name="TelegraphObituaries">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of his early appearances on British television was as Noah Riley in the 1970s police drama The Sweeney, in an episode entitled Trap.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He played Jesus in Monty Python's Life of Brian, having also appeared in the earlier Monty Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin.<ref name="BFI-Filmography" /> As a Shakespearean actor he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure in 1979.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1982, he had the lead role of Horatio Nelson in the TV period drama I Remember Nelson.<ref name="I Remember Nelson">Template:Cite news</ref>

Colley worked extensively with British director Ken Russell from the early 1970s to the early 1990s as part of a repertory of actors who appeared across Russell's television and film work.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He played the role of Modest Tchaikovsky in the film The Music Lovers (1971). He went on to play the role of LeGrand in Russell's The Devils (also 1971); he played the journalist Krenek in the biopic Mahler (1974); the composer Frédéric Chopin in Lisztomania (1975); Mr Brunt in Russell's adaptation of The Rainbow (1989) by D. H. Lawrence.<ref name="BFI-Filmography" /> His last roles for Russell were as Captain Dreyfus in the film Prisoner of Honor (1991), which dealt with the Dreyfus affair,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and as the composer John Ireland in The Secret Life of Arnold Bax (1992).

For his work in the Star Wars franchise, Colley's role as Admiral Piett is noted for differing from the other ill-fated Imperial officers who appeared alongside him in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), as Colley was the only actor to play an Imperial officer in a second Star Wars film, reprising his role in Return of the Jedi (1983).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Guardian"/> Colley reprised his role as Piett in the Cartoon Network animated special Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out in September 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Coincidentally, Colley and Darth Vader actor David Prowse had a part in the fantasy film Jabberwocky (1977).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Colley also played a notable role in the 1982 Clint Eastwood film Firefox, where he played a Soviet colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He went on to play SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the Second World War drama War and Remembrance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1990 Colley portrayed Napoleon Bonaparte during his last days in exile on St Helena in Napoleon's Last Battle, a BBC Timewatch documentary drama portraying the last days of Napoleon's life in exile on St Helena.

Colley directed Greetings (2007), a horror film starring Kirsty Cox, Henry Dunn and Ben Shockley.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2017, Colley recorded a series of short narrations for inclusion on Pop Wasteland, an album by Folkestone band Phenomenal Cat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life and death

Colley lived in Hythe, Kent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was married to Mary Dunne from 1962 until her death in 2018.<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>

According to comments which Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and acted with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley had a stammer 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 1978 BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Colley died in Ashford, Kent, on the afternoon of 30 June 2025, at the age of 87.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had injured his arm in a fall, then contracted COVID-19 and pneumonia in hospital.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Reference column heading
1964	Seventy Deadly Pills	Covent Garden Porter		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1967	The Jokers	De Winter		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	How I Won the War	2nd Replacement		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1968	The Blood Beast Terror	James		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1970	Performance	Tony Farrell	credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1971	The Music Lovers	Modest Tchaikovsky		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
	The Devils	Legrand		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
1972	The Triple Echo	Provo Corporal	credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1973	Hitler: The Last Ten Days	Boldt	Uncredited	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1974	Mahler	Krenek	credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
	Juggernaut	Detective Brown		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1975	Slade in Flame	Tony Devlin		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Lisztomania	Frédéric Chopin	credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
1977	Jabberwocky	1st Fanatic		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
1979	Monty Python's Life of Brian	Jesus		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Guardian"/>
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Admiral Piett		<ref name="IGN"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
1981	Peter and Paul	Theodotus		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1982	Firefox	Colonel Kontarsky		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Giro City	Martin Osborne		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1983	The Scarlet and the Black	Captain Hirsch	credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Return of the Jedi	Admiral Piett		<ref name="IGN"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
1984	Return to Waterloo	The Traveller		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1986	The Whistle Blower	Bill Pickett		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1988	A Summer Story	Jim	credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1989	The Rainbow	Mr. Brunt	credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
1990	The Plot to Kill Hitler	Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel		<ref name="TCM"/>
	I Hired a Contract Killer	The Killer		<ref name="TCM"/>
	The Last Island	Nick		<ref name="TCM"/><ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1992	La Vie de bohème	Street Sweeper		<ref name="TCM"/>
1996	El último viaje de Robert Rylands	Archdale		<ref name="TCM"/>
	Brassed Off	Greasley	credited as Ken Colley	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1997	Shadow Run	Larcombe		<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1999	Hold Back the Night	Uncle Bob		<ref name="TCM"/>
	Holding On	Phil		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="HoldingOn-MSC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	Greetings	Ken	Also director and writer	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2013	Scar Tissue	Weaver		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Reference column heading
1963	The Avengers	Young Man	Episode: "Don't Look Behind You"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
	Thorndyke	Ellis	1 episode
1964	The Other Man	Colin	Part of the Play of the Week series	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1970	Dance of the Seven Veils	Hitler	TV film	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Guardian"/>
1970–1972	A Family at War	Sergeant Jago		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1971	The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes	Farrish	2 episodes
1974	The Nine Tailors	"Potty" Peake	TV mini-series (part of Lord Peter Wimsey), Series 1 Episode 3	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Special Branch	Oliver	TV series, Series 4 Episode 9, "Date of Birth"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Fall of Eagles	Father Gapon	Episode: "Dearest Nicky"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1975	The Sweeney	Noah Riley	TV series, Series 2 Episode 6, "Trap"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1977	Ripping Yarns	Arthur, The Robber	Episode: "The Testing of Eric Outhwaite"	<ref name="Guardian"/>
1978	Les Misérables	Police Prefect	TV film	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Pennies from Heaven	The Accordion Man	6 episodes, TV mini-series	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Guardian"/>
1979	Measure for Measure	Duke	TV film, part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	The Danedyke Mystery	Major	6 episodes, TV series	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1982	I Remember Nelson	Admiral Lord Nelson	TV mini-series	<ref name="I Remember Nelson" /><ref name="Guardian"/>
1985	Wallenberg: A Hero's Story	Adolf Eichmann	TV film	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
	Mussolini: The Untold Story	King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy	TV mini-series
1986	Return to Treasure Island	Ben Gunn	10 episodes, credited as Ken Colley	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1987	Casanova	Le Duc	TV film	<ref name="TCM"/>
1988	War and Remembrance	SS Standartenführer Paul Blobel	2 episodes, TV mini-series
1990	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Mathew Davenheim	Episode: "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1991	Minder	Ron the Burglar	Episode: "Him Indoors"
	Inspector Morse	DCI Patrick Dawson	Episode: "Second Time Around"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Prisoner of Honor	Captain Alfred Dreyfus	TV film	<ref name="TCM" />
1992	The Secret Life of Arnold Bax	John Ireland	TV film	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
1993	Unnatural Causes	Inspector Gerry Reckless	TV film	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	Between the Lines	Chief Supt. Tattersall	Episode: "Manoeuvre 11"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1994–1995	Moving Story	Ken Uttley	13 episodes	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1995	Solomon & Sheba	Nathan	TV film	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
1996	Wycliffe	Sam Peploe	Episode: "Number of the Beast"
1995–1999	The Bill	Various characters	3 episodes, credited as Ken Colley in 1999
1999	The Last Train	Mark	Episode Five, credited as Ken Colley
2000	Casualty	Clifford Watkins	Episode: "The Turning of the Scrooge"
2001	Midsomer Murders	Lloyd Kirby	Episode: "The Electric Vendetta"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2002	Relic Hunter	Professor Lamenza	Episode: "Faux Fox"
2003	EastEnders	Brian	3 episodes
2005	Like Father Like Son	Rawsthorne	2 episodes
2006	Foyle's War	Brian Jones	Episode: "Bad Blood"	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>
	New Tricks	Frank Benson	Episode: "Dockers"
2009	Casualty 1909	Dr. Frederick Smith	3 episodes
2012	Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out	Admiral Piett (voice)	TV film, credited as Kenneth Cooley	<ref name="IGN"/>
2013	Vera	Ronald Devreux	Series 3, Episode 3 Young Gods
	Misfits	Old Rudy	Series 5, Episode 4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2016	Peaky Blinders	Vicente Changretta	Series 3, Episodes 2 & 3	<ref name="BFI-Filmography"/>

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0171829

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0171829|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0171829/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 0171829  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0171829{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0171829|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

• Template:Discogs artist