His face is familiar to all Star Wars fans.
British actor Michael Culver, who notably plays in “The Empire Strikes Back”, died on February 27, his agent announced this Wednesday to the British press including The Independent and The Guardian.
He had been in poor health for several years, but the cause of his death was not made public.
Michael Culver leaves behind “a career spanning more than 50 years with notable roles in
Sherlock Holmes
,
A Passage to India
,
Secret Army
and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise,” recalls the press release revealed by the British press.
We are saddened to report that actor Michael Culver has passed away at the age of 85.
Culver was best known to Star Wars fans for portraying Captain Lorth Needa in 'The Empire Strikes Back'.
He also had a variety of roles across many stage, screen and radio productions.
pic.twitter.com/JMdEx6vCdV
— The Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) March 13, 2024
Michael Culver “largely gave up playing in the early 2000s,” details this press release.
In “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” he played Captain Needa, a commander of one of the villain Darth Vader’s destroyers.
He dies - in this film released in 1980 - strangled by the latter.
According to his agent, Michael Culver was "short of deaths when he saw his queue with almost 200 people waiting to see him" at a Star Wars convention in Chicago (United States) in 2019.
Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Zorro…
This actor also appeared in an episode of the series “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” in the 1980s. According to The Independent, Michael Culver also appeared in the theater, notably in Shakespeare plays, in the 1960s.
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Likewise, he starred in numerous television series and films from the 1960s onwards. Among the most famous are two James Bond films ("Good Kisses from Russia" in 1963, "Operation Thunder" in 1965), an episode of the series “Bowler Hat and Leather Boots” (1968), an episode of “Amically yours” (1972) or even an episode of “Zorro” in 1991.