‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’ actor dead at 82
Michael Pennington, who had a role in “Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,” has died.
The actor passed away Sunday, the Telegraph reported.
He was 82 years old.
Pennington played Death Star Commander Moff Jerjerrod in 1983’s “Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.”
Other notable roles the British actor played were Laertes in 1969’s “Hamlet” and Michael Foot in 2011’s “The Iron Lady.”
Pennington also founded the English Shakespeare Company in 1986 with theater director Michael Bogdanov, which promotes the work of William Shakespeare.
Pennington judged himself harshly for his “Star Wars” character, though it was well received by fans.
“I look at it now and I think I overact horribly and I can’t even remember the storyline,” he said in a September 2012 interview. “We all did it for a song, but I suppose that it has given me some kind of calling card for movies.”
“Whenever I come out of the Stage Door after a performance, all people would ask about was ‘Star Wars,’” he continued. “Nowadays, there’s less of that and more about ‘The Iron Lady.’”
He got married to actress Katharine Barker in 1964, and they shared a son, Mark, before they divorced in 1967. According to the Telegraph, his partner, arts administrator Prue Skene, died last year.
“A warm and pleasant man, Michael Pennington enjoyed the company of fellow actors and took his turn in cooking a meal for everyone, proving himself an accomplished chef,” the outlet also wrote.
“At one time he liked to hand out jars of his homemade quince butter,” they added.
