William Abney (actor)

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]

William Abney
Photo: Mark Gudgeon, 1967
Born	(1921-01-07)7 January 1921 Upminster, Essex, England
Died	9 August 1997(1997-08-09) (aged 76) London, England
Occupations	Actor writer

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

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]