Ian Abercrombie

Ian Abercrombie
Born	(1934-09-11)11 September 1934 Grays, Essex, England, UK
Died	26 January 2012(2012-01-26) (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, USA
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1965–2012

Ian Abercrombie (11 September 1934 - 26 January 2012) was an English actor, best known for playing Alfred Pennyworth in Birds of Prey. He appeared as Elaine Benes' fastidious boss, Justin Pitt during the sixth season of Seinfeld, and later as an even more fastidious butler on Desperate Housewives.

Career

Abercrombie was born on 11 September 1934 in Grays, Essex, England, United Kingdom. He began his theatrical career during the Blitz in World War II. After his footwork years during which he earned Bronze, Silver and Gold medals in stage dancing, he performed in London, Scotland, Holland and Ireland. He moved to the United States aged 17. He made his American stage debut in 1955 in a production of Stalag 17 with Jason Robards and Jules Munshin. Many plays in summer stock, regional and off-Broadway followed in a variety of theatrical offerings, from revues to Shakespeare (in a particularly low period, he worked as a magician's assistant for $10 a performance).

In 1957, he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany as part of Special Services, where he directed the continental premiere of Separate Tables. In the United States, he went to California for a backers' audition, which went nowhere but he began a long film and television career. He received awards for his work in Sweet Prince with Keir Dullea; Teeth N'smiles; A Doll's House with Linda Purl; and The Arcata Promise, opposite Anthony Hopkins. He received acclaim for the one-man show, Jean Cocteau - A Mirror Image.

He shared two roles with actor Clive Revill. Revill was Alfred Pennyworth in early episodes of Batman (1992), a role Abercrombie played in the television series Birds of Prey (2002). Revill was also the first actor to play Palpatine, in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Abercrombie portrayed the character in the animated Clone Wars series and film. He is the second actor with the name Ian to portray Palpatine: The first was Ian McDiarmid who played Palpatine in 5 of the 6 Star Wars films as well as Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron.

Abercrombie was known to cult film audiences as Wiseman in the comedy horror film Army of Darkness (1993). He guest-starred in many television series such as The Nanny, Wizards of Waverly Place, Airwolf, Babylon 5, and NewsRadio. He portrayed evil chancellor Palpatine in the film The Clone Wars (2008) and reprised his role as Palpatine in the television adaption and its two spin-off video games: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes and Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels. On radio he was heard in several productions of the Hollywood Theater of the Ear.

Death

Abercrombie died in Hollywood on 26 January 2012, aged 77, from undisclosed causes. He was survived by three brothers; Douglas, Donald and Alex.

Filmography

• Young Frankenstein (1974) (uncredited)
• The Prisoner of Zenda (1977)
• Fantasy Island (1977)
• Battlestar Galactica (1978)
• Sextette (1978)
• Journey's End (1983)
• The Ice Pirates (1984)
• Kicks (1985)
• Firewalker (1986)
• Last Resort (1986)
• Warlock (1988)
• Catacombs (1988)
• Zandalee (1991)
• Puppet Master III (1992)
• Twin Peaks (1992)
• The Public Eye (1992)
• Army of Darkness (1993)
• Addams Family Values (1993)
• Clean Slate (1994)
• Babylon 5 (1994)
• Days of our Lives (1997–2002)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
• MouseHunt (1997)
• Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman (2000)
• Birds of Prey (2002) (as Alfred Pennyworth)
• Inland Empire (2006)
• Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
• Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012) (as Professor Crumbs; recurring role)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
• The Next Train Home (2011)
• Rango (2011)

External links

• Ian Abercrombie at IMDb
• Ian Abercrombie at AllMovie
• Ian Abercrombie at Memory Alpha
• New York Times profile
• Obituary