---
name: "Ian Abercrombie"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ian-abercrombie"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "11 September 1934"
died: "26 January 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 73
updated: "2026-09-17T06:45:02.525616+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ian Abercrombie

Actor. Born 11 September 1934 in Grays, Essex, England, UK. Died 26 January 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 11 September 1934, Grays, Essex, England, UK
- **Died:** 26 January 2012
- **Active:** 1985–2011
- **Also known as:** ایان آبرکرومبی
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 82 (1), 1990s 66 (3), 2000s 80 (1), 2010s 77 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2269990, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000718/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11764

## Biography

Ian Abercrombie (11 September 1934 – 26 January 2012) was an English actor. He began his career as a dancer during the Second World War, winning bronze, silver and gold medals in stage dancing, and performed in London, Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands. He moved to the United States at the age of seventeen and made his American stage debut in 1955 in a production of Stalag 17. After serving in the British Army in Germany, where he worked in Special Services, he settled in California and began a film and television career that spanned more than five decades.

Abercrombie appeared in films including Young Frankenstein (1974), Army of Darkness (1992), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Wild Wild West (1999). On television he played Justin Pitt in Seinfeld, Alfred Pennyworth in Birds of Prey, a butler in Desperate Housewives and Professor Crumbs in Wizards of Waverly Place. He voiced Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Ambrose in the animated film Rango (2011). He also maintained an active stage career, notably in a one-man show as Jean Cocteau.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *Rango* (2011), Fi1m 77, as Ambrose (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/rango.md)
- *Shrek* (2001), Fi1m 80, ADR & Dubbing — [page](https://film.one/film/shrek.md)
- *Wild Wild West* (1999), Fi1m 34, as British Dignitary — [page](https://film.one/film/wild-wild-west.md)
- *Addams Family Values* (1993), Fi1m 78, as Driver — [page](https://film.one/film/addams-family-values.md)
- *Twin Peaks* (1990), Fi1m 86, as Tom Brockman — [page](https://film.one/tv/twin-peaks.md)
- *Moonlighting* (1985), Fi1m 82, as Ludwig — [page](https://film.one/tv/moonlighting.md)

## Also known for

- *The Lost World: Jurassic Park* (1997), Butler
- *How I Met Your Mother* (2005), Ben Franklin
- *Army of Darkness* (1992), Wiseman
- *Young Frankenstein* (1974), Second Villager (uncredited)
- *Charmed* (1998), Aramis
- *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* (2008), Chancellor Palpatine (voice), Darth Sidious / Pirate #2 (voice), Darth Sidious (voice), Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious (voice)
- *Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties* (2006), Smithee
- *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* (2008), Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious (voice)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ian-abercrombie