
Kenneth Colley
AKA: Kenneth CooleyBirthday: 1937-12-07
Died: 2025-06-30
Birthplace: Manchester, England, UK
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.
Filmography
Life of Brian
Character: JesusThe Empire Strikes Back
Character: Admiral PiettFirefox
Character: Colonel KontarskyI Hired a Contract Killer
Character: The KillerBrassed Off
Character: GreasleyThe Scarlet and the Black
Character: Capt. HirschLes Misérables
Character: Police PrefectA Master of the Marionettes
Character: Inspector TennysonThe Blood Beast Terror
Character: JamesThe Jokers
Character: De WinterSolomon & Sheba
Character: NathanReturn to Waterloo
Character: The TravellerHold Back the Night
Character: Uncle BobKremlin Farewell
Character: SergejLisztomania
Character: Frederic ChopinThe Music Lovers
Character: Modeste TchaikovskyRobert Rylands' Last Journey
Character: ArchdaleUnnatural Causes
Character: Inspector Gerry RecklessThe Rainbow
Character: Mr. BruntScar Tissue
Character: WeaverJabberwocky
Character: 1st FanaticThe Plot to Kill Hitler
Character: Wilhelm KeitelLEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
Character: Admiral Piett (voice)Return of the Jedi
Character: Admiral PiettCasanova
Character: Le DucThe Boy Friend
Character: King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)A Summer Story
Character: JimWho Pays?
Character: CorbettLike Father Like Son
Character: RawsthorneGiro City
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