\n<\/p>\n
Michael Culver, the British actor best known for one of the memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise, died on February 27. He was 85.<\/p>\n
Mr. Culver\u2019s death was confirmed by Alliance Agents, which posted a statement to social media on Tuesday<\/a>, and his agent, Thomas Bowington. The agency did not give a cause of death, though Mr. Bowington said Mr. Culver had had cancer for several years.<\/p>\n He had a long acting career<\/a> onscreen and stage that spanned over 50 years and included roles in \u201cThe Return of Sherlock Holmes\u201d on TV and the 1984 film \u201cA Passage to India.\u201d<\/p>\n But his most lasting impact on popular culture came in 1980, with his brief role as Captain Needa in the second \u201cStar Wars\u201d film, \u201cThe Empire Strikes Back.\u201d<\/a> Needa, after losing track of Han Solo\u2019s Millennium Falcon, apologizes to Darth Vader, who promptly kills him just by raising and clenching his fist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cApology accepted, Captain Needa,\u201d Vader says, walking around the captain\u2019s body and motioning for others to take him away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Culver also appeared in two \u201cJames Bond\u201d films with the actor Sean Connery, From \u201cRussia With Love\u201d and \u201cThunderball.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Culver was born on June 16, 1938, in London. His father, Ronald Culver, was also an actor, and his son, Roderic Culver, became an actor, too, Mr. Bowington said.<\/p>\n Mr. Culver performed in several Shakespeare plays and worked regularly with the British director Anthony Page<\/a>, his agent said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Culver is survived by his second wife, Amanda, and his children, Roderic, Sue and Justin Culver.<\/p>\n Later in his life, Mr. Culver mostly gave up acting to focus on politics and would have likely pursued a political career had he not been an actor, Mr. Bowington said.<\/p>\n He still visited Star Wars fan events, notably one in Chicago in 2019, his agency said in its statement.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was lost for words,\u201d it said, \u201cwhen he saw his queue line with nearly 200 people waiting to see him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n