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Who was Kenneth Colley? 'Star Wars' actor who played Admiral Piett dies at 87
Kenneth Colley, the British actor best known for his role as Admiral Firmus Piett in the original Star Wars trilogy, has died. He was 87.
Colley passed away on June 30 at his home in England after contracting Covid-19, which developed into pneumonia, multiple reports stated. The BBC noted he had initially been hospitalized with an injured arm following a fall.
Born on December 7, 1937, in Manchester, Lancashire, Colley built a prolific career across film, television, and stage. He first appeared in numerous British television series including The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Special Branch, The Sweeney, and Pennies from Heaven.
In 1980, Colley joined the Star Wars franchise as Admiral Piett, an Imperial officer aboard Darth Vader's flagship in The Empire Strikes Back. He reprised the role in 1983's Return of the Jedi, sharing the screen with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, and the late Carrie Fisher. Decades later, he voiced the same character in the 2012 animated film Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out.
Beyond Star Wars, Colley earned acclaim for portraying Jesus in the 1979 comedy Monty Python's Life of Brian, where he appeared alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman, and Michael Palin. His film credits also included Clint Eastwood's Firefox, Ken Russell's The Rainbow, Aki Kaurismäki's I Hired a Contract Killer, and the World War II miniseries War and Remembrance.
In 2007, he directed the horror movie Greetings, starring Kirsty Cox, Henry Dunn, and Ben Shockley. On stage, Colley considered his most cherished role to be Estragon in Beckett's Waiting for Godot, which he performed at London's Cockpit Theatre in 2014.
A statement from Colley's agent reflected on his wide-ranging career and passion for performance: 'Ken's favourite part was playing Estragon in the stage production of Beckett's classic Waiting for Godot.'
