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British actor Kenneth Cope, a popular TV and film star in the 1960s and 70s thanks to leading appearances in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Coronation Street, has died. He was 93.
Cope’s former agent Sandra Chalmers, of The Artists Partnership, announced that he died at his home in the northern seaside town of Southport in Sefton, Liverpool, the area where he was born in 1931.
Renny Lister, Cope’s wife of 63 years, and family members, including actress daughter Martha Cope, were by his side. He is also survived by children Nick and Mark.
Chalmers said Cope was an “incredible icon of British TV & film.” Cope and Lister met in 1961 when they both joined the cast of long-running ITV soap Coronation Street. He played petty crook Jed Stone as a semi-regular through the early and mid-1960s. He later returned to the role after an absence of 42 years.
He honed his craft in repertory with the Bristol Old Vic and made his first appearance on television in 1952, playing a musician in a TV film adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona as a musician. The camera liked him and he performed a string of roles throughout the 1950s.
The sixties proved to be a breakthrough decade for him with the double whammy of him playing in Coronation Street and, starting in 1962, he spent a year appearing with David Frost, Millicent Martin, Roy Kinnear, David Kernan, Willie Rushton, and Lance Percival on This Was The Week That Was, a seminal late-night satirical show that aimed its sharp wit at the establishment.
This Was The Week That Was quickly became essential Saturday night viewing. The BBC show dared to highlight the murkier goings on in political life, particularly salacious political scandals, causing some politicians and prominent public figures to demand that it be taken off the air.
The furor only propelled Cope’s career. He went on to play roles in the popular show of the day including Z Cars, The Avengers and We Have Ways of Making You Laugh, the celebrated sketch show written by Frank Muir and Dick Vosburgh.
In the late 1960s, the producer Monty Berman came up with an idea for a show titled Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) — called My Partner the Ghost in the U.S. — about two private detectives: Jeff Randall, played by Mike Pratt, and Marty Hopkirk, played by Cope. The twist being that Cope’s Hopkirk is murdered but returns as a ghost — in a cream-colored suit — to help his former partner bring the killer to justice.
It took a little while to catch on, but the show eventually became a hit for the old ATV and LWT ITV stations. The show went on to become highly influential and it was revived decades later with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.
Cope also appeared in movies Carry on at Your Convenience and Carry on Matron, although he was uncredited for a small role in 1964s Carry on Jack. He also appeared in Rentadick, Juggernaut, the film version, TV comedy George and Mildred, and Captives.
As Cope’s last agent, the family requested that Chalmers announce his passing. In a statement, Chalmers wrote: “It is with great sadness the family wish to announce the passing of Kenneth Cope 14/04/1931 -11/09/2024. Ken passed away yesterday peacefully in his sleep with his wife and family by his side.”
