Ian Abercrombie was an English actor, who was best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in The WB superhero series Birds of Prey and Justin Pitt (Elaine Benes' boss) during the sixth season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. He also voiced Ganthet in Cartoon Network's Green Lantern: The Animated Series, played Smithee, the Carlyle Castle butler in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, and voiced Ambrose (his final movie role) in Paramount/Nickelodeon's 2011 animated Western comedy film Rango.
For Disney, he played Professor Crumbs in Wizards of Waverly Place, as well as voiced Palpatine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He also portrayed Rupert Cavanaugh (Ian Hainsworth's butler) in the ABC Studios TV show Desperate Housewives.
Early life[]
Abercrombie was born in Grays, Essex, England. 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, Ireland, and the Netherlands. He moved to the United States at age 17.
He made his American stage debut in 1951 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 United States Army and stationed in West Germany as part of Special Services, where he directed the continental premiere of Separate Tables.
In the U.S., he went to California for a backers' audition, which went nowhere, but he began a long film and television career. He received awards[citation needed] 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.
Death[]
Abercrombie died in Hollywood, California on January 26, 2012 at age 77, from kidney failure. During Celebration VI (August 23–26) there was a show called Vocal Stars of the Clone Wars hosted by James Arnold Taylor, and it included cast members Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, Dee Bradley Baker, and Tom Kane. They all dedicated the show to Ian, and that they miss him deeply.
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