‘Star Wars’ actor Kenneth Colley cause of death revealed
Colley may most notably be known as Admiral Piett in the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, but had been acting for decades prior to getting the role.
ENGLAND, UK — Actor Kenneth Colley, who played a key role in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, died at 87 after going to the hospital after a fall and contracting COVID, which turned into pneumonia, according to reports.
Colley may most notably be known as Admiral Piett in “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” but he’d been acting for decades prior to the role. He’s the only actor to play the role of a named Imperial officer in more than one “Star Wars” film, according to IMDb.
Colley’s agent Julian Owen told TMZ Thursday he died at his Ashford, England home surrounded by friends and family. USA Today says he was previously hospitalized after hurting his arm in a fall, which is where he got sick.
“Ken Colley was one of our finest character actors with a career spanning 60 years,” Owen shared in a statement to USA Today. “Ken continually worked on stage, film and television playing a vast array of characters, from Jesus in ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’ to evil and eccentric characters in Ken Russell films, and the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ for the BBC.”
He has 158 credits on IMDb, spanning across television shows and movies since the 1960s. Some characters he played include Jesus Christ in “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and Adolf Hitler’s loyal German commanding officer Wilhelm Keitel in “The Plot to Kill Hitler.”
His television credits include shows from “Peaky Blinders,” “Pennies from Heaven” to “The Sweeney.”