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Sad news for Star Wars fans today as Clive Revill, best known as the original voice of the villainous Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back, has died at the age of 94. Over a prolific career, the actor made many appearances on stage and screen, and his passing is the loss of another star from a generation that gave the world some pioneers of modern cinema. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Revill died March 11 at a care facility in Sherman Oaks following a long battle with dementia.

Born in 1929, Revill showed a love of acting at a young age and attended many schools and colleges on his way to a professional career which began in England. Appearing in many West End productions, the actor became a powerhouse performer in both modern – at the time – and Shakespearean roles, lending his voice to characters of both dramatic and comedic inclination.

In the 1960s and 1970s,...

Actor Clive Revill, known in part for his work on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Revill died on March 11 while at a care facility in Sherman Oaks, California. According to his daughter, Kate Revill, her father died following a battle with dementia. He was 94 years old.

Revill is known to Star Wars fans for his role in the original cut of 1980's Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. After he worked with director Irvin Kerschner on 1966's A Fine Madness, Revill was called upon to record some dialogue to be used for the voice of the emperor, in which the character is presented as a holographic projection. In the next movie, Return of the Jedi, Ian McDiarmid took over the role of the emperor, and in the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back, McDiarmid's version was used to...

Clive Revill, the New Zealand native who after being recruited to be an actor by Laurence Olivier starred on Broadway, appeared in two films for Billy Wilder and provided the original voice of the evil Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back, has died. He was 94.

Revill died March 11 at a care facility in Sherman Oaks after a battle with dementia, his daughter, Kate Revill, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The extremely versatile Revill played cops in Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), starring Olivier, and Jack Smight’s Kaleidoscope (1966), starring Warren Beatty; not one but two characters (a Scotsman and an Arab) in Joseph Losey’s Modesty Blaise (1966); and a physicist investigating strange goings-on at a haunted mansion in John Hough’s The Legend of Hell House (1973), starring Roddy McDowall.

A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Revill also appeared seven times on Broadway and received Tony nominations for...

After news broke on Thursday that the legendary Jessica Walter had died, celebrities took to social media to share condolences and fond memories of the award-winning actress.

Walter, who was 80, was best known for her portrayal of Lucille Bluth in “Arrested Development.” Her career spanned more than six decades and included other iconic roles, such as Malory Archer in “Archer” and the title character in the 1970s crime drama “Amy Prentiss.”

In addition to film and TV, Walter also found success in theater, starring in Broadway productions like “Advise & Consent,” Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” “A Severed Head,” “Nightlife” and “Photo Finish,” which earned her the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Newcomer.

Jason Bateman, who starred as Michael Bluth on “Arrested Development,” paid tribute to his on-screen mom.

“R.I.P. Jessica Walter. What an incredible career, filled with amazing performances,” he tweeted. “I will forever remember my time with her,...

Jessica Walter, the award-winning actress best known for portraying Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, died Wednesday at age 80 at her home in New York City. A representative for Walter confirmed the news to Rolling Stone but did not provide a cause of death.

Walter is survived by her daughter, Brooke Bowman, and grandson, Micah Heymann. Bowman said in a statement: “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom Jessica. A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to...

Jessica Walter, award-winning star of stage and screen with six decades in show business, passed away in her sleep in new York City on Wednesday March 24. (Via Deadline.) In recent years, Walter was best known for her Emmy-nominated role as matriarch Lucille Bluth in “Arrested Development,” as well as for voicing Malory Archer on Fxx’s animated series “Archer.” She won an Emmy in 1975 for her leading role in the police drama “Amy Prentiss.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Walter attended New York City’s High School of Performing Arts (now called Laguardia) and further studied acting at the famed Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. She began her career on Broadway, starring in productions such as “Advise and Consent,” Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” “A Severed Head,” “Nightlife,” “Tartuffe,” “The Royal Family,” and “Photo Finish.”

Her earliest prominent film role came in 1971’s “Play Misty for Me,” in which her...

Jessica Walter, the award-winning actress whose career spanned five decades, passed away in her sleep at home in New York City on Wednesday, March 24th.

Walter’s career included everything from a standout turn in Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, Play Misty for Me to The Flamingo Kid to her Emmy-nominated turns on Trapper John M..D. and Streets of San Francisco. For her performance as Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, Walter earned yet another Emmy nomination (Outstanding Supporting Actress) and two SAG nominations. Walter won an Emmy for Amy Prentiss. She also voiced Malory Archer on Fxx’s animated series Archer.

Speaking of SAG, Walter served as 2nd National Vice President of the Screen Actors Guild, and was an elected member of the SAG Board of Directors for over a decade.

Walter began her career in her hometown of New York City where she appeared in numerous Broadway productions including Advise and Consent,...

A striking stage presence for more than 60 years and a familiar face on TV

Sheila Burrell, who has died aged 89 after a long illness, was a cousin of Laurence Olivier, and a similarly distinctive and fiery actor with a broad, open face, high cheekbones and expressive eyes. She stood at only 5ft 5ins but could fill the widest stage and hold the largest audience. Her voice was a mezzo marvel, kittenish or growling and, in later life, acquired the viscosity and vintage of an old ruby port, matured after years of experience.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, she made her name as a wild, red-headed Barbara Allen (subject of the famous ballad) in Peter Brook's 1949 production of Dark of the Moon (Ambassadors theatre), an American pot-boiler about the seduction of a lusty girl by a witch boy and the hysterical reaction of her local community.

The role remained one of her favourites,...

Self-made Hollywood producer best known for adapting novels

Elliott Kastner, who has died of cancer aged 80, was the model of a film producer, working his way up from the mailroom at the William Morris Agency in New York to Los Angeles, where he joined another powerful talent agency, McA, in 1959. He soon became vice-president of Universal Pictures, but after two years he risked everything to become an independent producer, a move that paid off.

This achievement required a certain amount of ruthlessness, and Kastner was relentless in his pursuit of getting what he wanted. Mostly he wanted to entice well-known playwrights and novelists to write screenplays, or gain the rights of those works whose authors were no longer around to cajole.

Kastner persuaded William Inge (Bus Riley's Back in Town, 1965), Iris Murdoch (A Severed Head, 1970), Edna O'Brien (Zee and Co, 1972) and Peter Shaffer (Equus, 1977) to adapt their works for the screen,...

American film producer Elliot Kastner has died, aged 80.

He had been battling cancer and passed away on Wednesday in London, where he had lived and worked for many years. Further details about his illness were not released as WENN went to press.

Kastner began his professional career as a literary agent, and went on to produce films based on novels including Vladimir Nabokov's Laughter in the Dark and Iris Murdoch's A Severed Head.

His other film credits included: Harper, starring Paul Newman; World War II drama Where Eagles Dare, starring Richard Burton; and The Missouri Breaks, with Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson.

Kastner made three movies with Brando and five with Burton, including 1977 psychological drama Equus.

However, he is perhaps best-known for his film adaptations of Raymond Chandler's novels, such as The Long Goodbye (1973), Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and The Big Sleep (1978).

Kastner is survived by a son, Dillon, and a daughter, Milita. He is also survived by three stepsons from his second marriage to Tessa Kennedy.