{"id":2773,"date":"2024-09-27T11:25:55","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T10:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/?p=2773"},"modified":"2024-09-27T11:25:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T10:25:55","slug":"icon-death-we-mournfully-announce-the-demise-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/?p=2773","title":{"rendered":"ICON DEATH. We mournfully announce the demise of"},"content":{"rendered":"

He was eighty-five years old. He starred in one of the \u201cmost memorable\u201d scenes in STAR WARS as an actor.<\/p>\n

Michael Culver, who portrayed Captain Lorth Needa in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, passed away Thursday, according to his representatives, following a protracted illness.<\/p>\n

In one of the film\u2019s most well-known sequences, Darth Vader uses telekinetic strangling to kill Culver as retaliation for the Millennium Falcon escaping from him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are very sad to confirm the death of our friend and client Michael Culver,\u201d said a statement released by his representatives today.<\/p>\n

Throughout his more than half-century career, he played iconic roles in films such as Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army, and, of course, one of the most well-known death sequences in Star Wars.<\/p>\n

Early in the new millennium, Michael largely gave from acting to concentrate on his political efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been an honor to represent Michael for ten years and accompany him to some of the best Star Wars events in the UK and Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael officially passed away today. He was eighty-five years old. Our hearts ached for him.<\/p>\n

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Prior to his rise to fame from Star Wars, Culver portrayed Major McBryde in A Passage to India and Ernest Clifford in Breakaway.<\/p>\n

He was also in Sherlock Homes, Secret Army, and Armchair Thriller.<\/p>\n

Before he retired from acting in the early 2000s, the London-born actor had a career spanning more than 50 years.<\/p>\n

Culver\u2019s admirers were quick to pay tribute to him online as well.<\/p>\n

On X, the former Twitter, the Star Wars Underworld posted, \u201cWe are sad to say that actor Michael Culver has passed away at the age of 85.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u201cCulver\u2019s portrayal of Captain Lorth Needa in \u201cThe Empire Strikes Back\u201d is what most Star Wars fans knew about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe also played a range of parts in numerous radio, television, and stage productions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast featured a tribute to Culver.<\/p>\n

It read, \u201cDespite his long illness, Michael remained a strong, moral man who lived his life to the fullest, working and advocating for the causes he had dedicated his entire life to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u201cMichael was an extraordinary man as well as an extraordinary actor.\u201d<\/p>\n

His contributions and impact continue to be seen in programs like the one we like, in the causes he ardently championed, and in the lives he improved.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are grateful to Michael for everything he has given us, and we are thinking of his family and everyone who knew him during this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He was eighty-five years old. He starred in one of the \u201cmost memorable\u201d scenes in STAR WARS as an actor. Michael Culver, who portrayed Captain Lorth Needa in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, passed away Thursday, according to his representatives, following a protracted illness. In one of the film\u2019s most well-known sequences, Darth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-random-stuff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2774,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773\/revisions\/2774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}