John Antony Townley (6 November 1912 – 27 September 1984), known professionally as Toke Townley, was an English

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Biography

Townley was born on 6 November 1912 at

Great Dunmow Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It lies to the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, Essex, Braintree, east of London Stanste ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

; his father was a vicar. His first name, "John", was changed to "Toke" shortly after his birth. After he left school he worked as a clerk in a factory, acting in his spare time. He did not become a professional actor until his early 30s, first appearing at

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

. He appeared in many BBC television programmes during the early pioneering days at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

. Between 1951 and 1970, in the heyday of the British studios, Townley appeared in almost thirty films, including '' Lady Godiva Rides Again'', '' Doctor at Sea'', ''

The Quatermass Xperiment ''The Quatermass Xperiment'' (a.k.a. ''The Creeping Unknown'' in the United States) is a 1955 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, based on the 1953 BBC Television serial '' The Quatermass Experiment'' written by ...

'', ''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scotland, Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving E ...

'', '' Carry On Admiral'', '' Doctor in Distress'' and ''

Scars of Dracula ''Scars of Dracula'' is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, along with Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn. Although disparaged b ...

''. He went on to appear in many film and television roles over the years, including '' The Avengers''. He was also an accomplished

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and played the instrument on screen. Many of his roles were country bumpkins, so it was an appropriate move when Townley joined ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' (known from 1972 until 1989 as Emmerdale Farm) as Annie Sugden's father, Sam Pearson, complete with cloth cap and collarless shirt, when the serial began in 1972. Although Sam was said to have been born in the 1890s, Townley was actually just seven years older than Sheila Mercier, who played his daughter. He appeared in over 800 episodes of ''Emmerdale Farm''. Loved and admired by the rest of the cast of the rural soap opera, Townley was said to be a private person, living alone at a

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

hotel, near where the programme was filmed. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

whilst still in the soap so his character was killed off.

Partial filmography

* '' Lady Godiva Rides Again'' (1951) - Lucille's husband * '' Treasure Hunt'' (1952) - William Burke * '' Time Gentlemen, Please!'' (1952) - Potman * '' Meet Me Tonight'' (1952) - Stage Manager - Red Peppers * ''

My Wife's Lodger ''My Wife's Lodger'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Dominic Roche, Olive Sloane and Leslie Dwyer. It was written by Stafford Dickens based on the 1951 play ''My Wife's Lodger'' by Roche. Plot Willie Higginbot ...

'' (1952) - Soldier * ''

Cosh Boy ''Cosh Boy'' (released in the United States as ''The Slasher'') is a 1953 British film noir based on an original play by Bruce Walker. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and featured James Kenney and Joan Collins. It was made at Riverside Studios ...

'' (1953) - Mr. 'Smith' (uncredited) * '' Turn the Key Softly'' (1953) - Prison Guard (uncredited) * '' The Broken Horseshoe'' (1953) - Fred Barker, Hall Porter * ''

Innocents in Paris ''Innocents in Paris'' is a 1953 British-French international co-production comedy film produced by Romulus Films, directed by Gordon Parry and starring Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, Claire Bloom, Margaret Rutherford, Claude Dauphin, and Jimm ...

'' (1953) - Airport Porter (uncredited) * '' Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) - Trumpet Player * ''

The Million Pound Note ''The Million Pound Note'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gregory Peck, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Jane Griffiths (actress), Jane Griffiths. It is based on the 1893 Mark Twain short story "The Mi ...

'' (1954) - Revivalist (uncredited) * ''

The Runaway Bus ''The Runaway Bus'' (also known as ''Scream in the Night'') is a 1954 British comedy film produced, written and directed by Val Guest. It stars Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford and Petula Clark and an ensemble cast of character actors in a s ...

'' (1954) - Henry Waterman * '' Fast and Loose'' (1954) - Alfred * '' Bang! You're Dead'' (1954) - Jimmy Knuckle * '' The Men of Sherwood Forest'' (1954) - Father David * '' Doctor at Sea'' (1955) - Jenkins * '' John and Julie'' (1955) - Booking Clerk * ''

'' (1955) - The Chemist (uncredited) * '' The Blue Peter'' (1955) - Pub Barman (uncredited) * '' Now and Forever'' (1956) - Garage Hand (uncredited) * ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...

'' (1956) - Meek Man (Maze) * '' Carry On Admiral'' (1957) - Steward * ''

'' (1957) - Lovegrove * '' Barnacle Bill'' (1957) - Timmins * '' Innocent Sinners'' (1958) - Bates (uncredited) * '' Law and Disorder'' (1958) - Sidney Rumpthorne * ''

A Cry from the Streets ''A Cry from the Streets'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Max Bygraves and Barbara Murray. It was written by Vernon Harris based on the 1957 novel ''The Friend in Need'' by Elizabeth Coxhead. Plot When a man ...

'' (1958) - Mr. Daniels * ''

Look Back in Anger ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...

'' (1959) - Spectacled Man * ''

Libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

'' (1959) - Associate * '' The World of Suzie Wong'' (1960) - Waiter (uncredited) * ''The Missing Note'' (1961) - Mr. Parker * '' The Avengers'' (1961, TV series) * '' A Chance of Thunder'' (1961, TV series) - Frank White * ''

Faces of Jim ''Faces of Jim'' was a black-and-white British comedy television series starring Jimmy Edwards, June Whitfield and Ronnie Barker, with each episode being an individual half-hour sitcom. The first series aired as ''The Seven Faces of Jim'', the ...

'' * '' H.M.S. Defiant'' (1962) - Silly Billy * '' The Fast Lady'' (1962) - Angry Motorist * '' Doctor in Distress'' (1963) - Clerk of Works (uncredited) * '' The Chalk Garden'' (1963) - Shop Clerk * ''

'' (1970) - Elderly Waggoner

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townley, Toke 1912 births 1984 deaths English male film actors English male television actors People from Great Dunmow 20th-century English male actors Male actors from Essex Actors from Uttlesford