Kenneth Colley dead: Star Wars legend dies from Covid complications as tributes flood in

Star Wars actor Kenneth Colley has died aged of 87 after contracting Covid and developing pneumonia, his agent confirmed. Best known for playing Admiral Piett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Kenneth played an imperial officer in charge of Darth Vader's flagship. He reprised the role via voice acting for the animated Lego adaptation, Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out.

His agent of 10 years, Julian Owen, confirmed the English actor died "peacefully" on Monday, June 30th in Ashford, Kent. He said: "He had been admitted after a fall with an injured arm, however he quickly contracted Covid which developed into pneumonia. He passed away peacefully with friends at his bedside.

"Ken Colley was one of our finest character actors with a career spanning 60 years. 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."

It went on: "Ken's favourite part was playing Estragon in the stage production of Beckett's classic Waiting for Godot at the Cockpit Theatre in London in 2014.

"Ken's participation in Star Wars led him to being invited to conventions and official fan events all over the World where he remains one of the best loved actors from the original trilogy.

"Ken loved his garden, art collecting and had a passion for fast cars."

Across his incredible acting career, Ken also appeared in Monty Python's Life of Brian alongside John Cleese and Michael Palin.

In more recent years, he had stints on everything from Holby City to Peaky Blinders, and even two episodes of a Doctor Who special.