William Abney (actor)

William Abney
Photo: Mark Gudgeon, 1967
Born(1921-01-07)7 January 1921
Died9 August 1997(1997-08-09) (aged 76)
London, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • writer

William Edward Charles Wootton Abney (7 January 1921 – 9 August 1997) played Reverend Copley on Coronation Street in 1977, and Jim Lorimer in 1980. His other television credits include The Adventures of William Tell, Crossroads, Special Branch, Play for Today, All Creatures Great and Small, Robin's Nest and The Return of Sherlock Holmes.[1]

The son of Henry Charles Wootton Abney, of the landed gentry family of Abney of Measham Hall, Derbyshire, by his wife, Janet Bentley Littlejohn, Abney was educated at Cranleigh School and the Central School of Speech and Drama.[2]

His stage work included West End roles in the original production of Carrington V.C. in 1953, and (as Giles Ralston) in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in 1956-1959.[3][4]

As a film actor, Abney appeared in Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960), Two-Way Stretch, (1960), Cone of Silence (1960), The City of the Dead (1960), Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973), The Legacy (1979), North Sea Hijack (1980) and Curse of the Pink Panther (1983).[5]

As a writer, Abney wrote the story for "Poor Butterfly" (1969), an episode of Journey to the Unknown (TV series).[6]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1951 Sunday Night Theatre Multiple roles [7]
1953 Martim Lutero
1957 The Steel Bayonet Artillery Officer [7]
1959 Horrors of the Black Museum Patrol Constable #1 [7]
1959 The Night We Dropped a Clanger 2nd German Sentry [7]
1960 Two-Way Stretch Visiting Room Warder [7]
1960 Never Take Sweets from a Stranger 1st Policeman
1960 Cone of Silence First Officer [7]
1960 The Man Who Was Nobody James Tynewood
1960 The City of the Dead Policeman [7]
1961 Middle Course Jaghorst [7]
1962 Flight from Singapore Flight Lt. Bob Elliott [7]
1963 On the Run Jock McKay Edgar Wallace Mysteries [7]
1964 We Shall See Shaw Edgar Wallace Mysteries [7]
1973 Hitler: The Last Ten Days Voss [7]
1978 The Legacy Butler [7]
1979 North Sea Hijack Gail [7]
1983 Curse of the Pink Panther Hugo the Houseman [7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "William Abney". www.aveleyman.com.
  2. ^ "Henry Charles Wootton Abney (1881-1953) - Find a..." www.findagrave.com.
  3. ^ "William Abney | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  4. ^ Museum, Victoria and Albert (1958). "The Mousetrap | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections". Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections.
  5. ^ "William Abney | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  6. ^ "Poor Butterfly (1969)". BFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "William Abney". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
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