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Veteran actor Michael Pennington passes away
Theatre and screen actor Michael Pennington has died at the age of 82, his representatives confirmed on Monday. Pennington, renowned for his role as Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, was also celebrated for his extensive contributions to Shakespearean theatre.
Career highlights and legacy
Pennington's career spanned over five decades, beginning in 1965 with a role in the BBC mini-series The War of the Roses. He appeared in more than 70 screen productions, including a supporting role opposite Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, the biopic for which Streep won her third Academy Award.
In theatre, Pennington was a stalwart of classical performances, co-founding the English Shakespeare Company with director Michael Bogdanov. He was later named an Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a testament to his enduring influence on British theatre.
Tributes pour in
Actress Miriam Margolyes led tributes, remembering Pennington as a "very fine actor, brilliant, wise, clear." She shared her grief on social media, calling him an "old friend, from Cambridge [University] days" and adding, "I am sad beyond measure. Bless your dear memory, old chum."
"There's no one quite like Judi. For her acting is playing: she's a lass unparalleled."
Michael Pennington, in a 2015 interview with The Independent
Pennington had long admired Dame Judi Dench, citing her 1957 performance as Ophelia in Hamlet as his inspiration to pursue acting. The two later collaborated on several stage productions, including King Lear, alongside Dench's husband, Michael Williams.
Early life and final roles
Born Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington on June 7, 1943, in Cambridge, England, he began his career in television before expanding into film and theatre. His versatility was evident in his roles across genres, from BBC adaptations like The Witches of Pendle and Oedipus the King to George Eliot's Middlemarch.
Pennington's final credited role came in 2022, when he voiced The Trust in five episodes of the sci-fi series Raised by Wolves.
