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Emmie sam pearson

Toke Townley as Sam Pearson in 1983. Photo courtesy of Beckindale Bugle http://www.beckindale.com/2007_12_01_archive.html

Toke Townley was an English actor who played w:c:emmerdale:Sam Pearson from 1972 to 1984.

Biography[]

Born on 6th November 1912 in village of Margaret Roding*, Essex as John Antony Townley. Shortly after his birth, his first name was changed to the surname of an ancestor.

(*Some sources state the nearby town of Great Dunmow)

Died on 27th September 1984 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire.

Pre Emmerdale[]

Toke's career started as an industry clerk with acting in his spare time, until in his 30s when took up professional acting.

He first appeared at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Film worked included: Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951); Treasure Hunt (1952); Time, Gentlemen Please! (1952); The Broken Horseshoe (1953); an uncredited role in Cosh Boy (1953); another uncredited role in Turn the Key Softly (1953); The Runaway Bus (1954); The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954); an uncredited role in The Quatermass Xperiment (1955); Three Men in a Boat (1956); The Ship Was Loaded (1957); Law and Disorder (1958); Look Back in Anger (1959); Libel (1959); The Missing Note (1961); The Chalk Garden (1964); Scars of Dracula (1970).

Toke's television appearances included: Distinguished Gathering (1948); Ben Gunn in an adaptation of Treasure Island (1951); I Done A Murder (1951); as Thynne in The Black Brigand (1956); The Black Arrow (1958); Charlesworth (1959); The Four Just Men (1959); two episodes of Maigret (1960; 1961); Deadline Midnight (1960); four different characters in four episodes of No Hiding Place (1960 ; 1961; 1963; 1966); two different characters in two episodes of The Avengers (1961; 1964); The Men From Room 13 (1961); in the soap opera, Compact (1962); five different characters in five episodes of Z Cars (1963; 1964; 1964; 1968; 1971); Sherlock Holmes (1965); Honey Lane (1967); in an episode of the anthology series, Out of the Unknown (1969); Department S (1969); Take Three Girls (1969); The Two Ronnies (1971); as Henry Selby in The Flaxton Boys (1971); The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971).

During his time in Emmerdale Farm, Toke also made appearances in the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, Cloud Witness (1972); The Good Companions (1980).

Toke appeared in Honey Lane in 1967, originally titled Market In Honey Lane, which was a 1960s version of the famous BBC soap w:c:emmerdale:EastEnders. Honey Lane was also filmed on the Elstree studio backlot which EastEnders was later filmed.

Emmerdale Farm[]

Toke joined the cast of what was then a daytime soap, Emmerdale Farm from the first-ever episode in 1972 as Samuel "Sam" Pearson. This is a role he would continue until his death in September 1984 with his last on screen appearance being transmitted in November 1984 (episode 910). The character subsequently died off screen in the following episode (episode 911).

Sources[]

IMDb - Toke Townley. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0870059/ Accessed: 1 November 2015.

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