Clive Revill, “Star Wars” Actor Who Voiced Emperor Palpatine in “Empire Strikes Back”, Dies at 94

Clive Revill, the New Zealand actor moviegoers may best recognize as the man who originally voiced Star Wars villain Emperor Palpatine, has died. He was 94.

Revill died on March 11 at a care facility in Sherman Oaks, Calif., after a battle with dementia, as his daughter Kate Revill told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, March 26.

The actor held a versatile and long-lasting career that saw him appear in some 200 onscreen roles between 1955 and 2016. He was also well known for his stage acting; he appeared on Broadway in seven different roles between 1952, when he debuted in Mr. Pickwick, and in 1981, when he starred in Lolita. Revill received Tony Award nominations in 1961 and 1963 for his performances in Irma La Douce and Oliver!, respectively. 

A representative for Revill did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Revill started acting for the screen in the 1955 television movie Strike. He worked consistently through the latter half of the 20th century and notably voiced Emperor Palpatine in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back. (The character appeared only briefly in the original Star Wars sequel. Franchise creator George Lucas cast Ian McDiarmid to portray Palpatine in 1983's Return of the Jedi and in the franchise's later installments.)

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As Dallas Observer reported in 2017, Revill's voice-only role in The Empire Strikes Back came because he was friends with the movie's director Irvin Kershner. As Revill told the outlet, he recorded his memorable lines in Los Angeles after Kershner gave him "a crash course on the events in the Star Wars universe" and recorded three takes for that scene, in which Palpatine appears via hologram to communicate with Darth Vader. Revill remained engaged with Star Wars over the years and voiced several characters in video games within the franchise.

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"It's just seven words, but those words encompass the absolute idea," Revill told that outlet of his small, yet pivotal role in Star Wars history. He referred to the franchise as "one of the most extraordinary ideas that's ever come out of somebody's head" in that interview and said he enjoyed delivering those lines to fans at Star Wars conventions over the years.

Outside of Star Wars, Revill received acclaim for his role in the 1972 movie Avanti! and received a Golden Globe nomination for the performance in 1973. Joel Grey ultimately won that award for his performance in Cabaret. In 1992, Revill voiced the character Alfred in Batman: The Animated Series. Other notable films and television series he appeared in include 1986's The Transformers: The Movie, the 1980 television movie The Diary of Anne Frank and 1993's Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Revill last appeared onscreen in 2016's The Queen of Spain, which also starred Penélope Cruz, Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin.

According to THR, survivors include Revill's granddaughter Kayla.

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