British actor Michael Pennington, one of the stars of Return of the Jedi, has died at the age of 82.
A masterful interpreter of Shakespeare, Pennington was nevertheless perhaps best known for playing Moff Jerjerrod, the military officer responsible for overseeing the construction of the second Death Star in George Lucas’ 1983 sci-fi classic.
A versatile performer, in 2011 he channelled former Labour Party leader Michael Foot alongside co-star Meryl Streep in the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady.
Born June 7, 1943, the beloved thespian originally joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) after graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1964.
After leaving to try his hand at more contemporary material, including Chekhov’s Three Sisters, he returned to the RSC a decade later.
His second stint at the theatrical institution culminated for many with his Hamlet in 1980, in which he played the title role to near-universal acclaim.
British actor Michael Pennington as Moff Jerjerrod, the military officer responsible for overseeing the construction of the second Death Star, in George Lucas’ Return of the Jedi
British actor Michael Pennington in Nathan The Wise at London’s Hampstead Theatre in 2005
The RSC director John Barton had first discussed casting Pennington in the lead role as far back as 1976, describing him as ‘a very fine actor… he’s the person I most want to do Hamlet with.’
Pennington also starred in a number of film and TV roles throughout his career, showing an extraordinary flexibility.
He was cast as Ophelia’s brother Laertes in Tony Richardson’s 1969 screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Pennington later captured the imaginations of a generation of sci-fi fans after appearing as military bureaucrat Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi alongside his fellow Old Vic alumni James Earl Jones.
Other notable TV appearances included the title roles in 1986’s Oedipus Rex and the 1987 made-for-television film The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Pennington was also a prolific author. Alongside his work on Shakespeare classics like Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night, he wrote 1977’s Rossya: A Journey through Siberia.
Michael Pennington married actress Katharine Barker in 1964. The couple had one son but the marriage ended in 1967.
His partner, the arts administrator Prue Skene CBE, died in March last year.
Harry Potter actress Miriam Margolyes took to social media to pay emotional tribute to Pennington, describing him as ‘a very fine actor’.
‘Michael Pennington has died. An old friend, from Cambridge days, a very fine actor, brilliant, wise, clear. I am sad beyond measure,’ she wrote.
‘Bless your dear memory. Old chum.’
