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Veteran British actor Michael Culver, best known for portraying Captain Needa in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Major McBryde in A Passage to India, has died. He was 85. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Culver passed away on Tuesday, February 27, according to his representatives at Alliance Agents. No other details or cause of death were given. Born June 16, 1938, in London, England, Culver came from an acting family, with his father, mother, brother, and aunt all having theatrical careers. His own acting career began by performing at the Old Vic, Dundee Rep, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He would go on to star in several recurring roles on British television, including as Squire Armstrong in The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972–74), Major Erwin Brandt in the BBC drama Secret Army (1977–78), Ralph Saroyan in The House of Eliott (1992) and Prior Robert in Cadfael (1994–98). Culver also had guest roles in The Sweeney,...

Michael Culver, the veteran British actor who portrayed the doomed Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back and a bigoted police inspector in David Lean’s A Passage to India, has died. He was 85.

Culver died Feb. 27, according to Alliance Agents, which represented him for the past decade. No other details were immediately available.

Culver also appeared on lots of British television over the years, from The Befrienders, Secret Army and The Adventures of Black Beauty to The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Game Set and Match, The House of Eliott and the Derek Jacobi-starring Cadfael.

In Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, Culver’s character, as captain of the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger, loses track of the Millennium Falcon piloted by Han Solo during a pursuit.

Needa takes full responsibility and apologizes to Darth Vader, who then kills him (“Apology accepted, Captain...

Star Wars actor Michael Culver has died at the age of 85.

According to a statement from Culver’s agency, he passed away on February 27th. No cause of death has been revealed.

“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” Alliance Agents shared in a statement also noting his “career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.

Culver played a small role as Captain Needa in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In the 1980 film, the character goes to Darth Vader to take responsibility for failing to capture the rebels. After the scene cuts, Culver is seen falling to the floor after Vader uses the Force to choke the life out of him. “Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” Vader quips.

Born in London on June 16th,...

Star Wars actor Michael Culver has died aged 85.

The British actor played a small but famous role in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back as Captain Needa, whose failure to capture the fleeing Millennium Falcon results in Darth Vader force-choking him to death aboard a Star Destroyer.

“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” said his agency, Alliance Agents, in a statement reported by several websites. The actor passed away on February 27, Alliance Agents added.

The agency noted Culver’s was “a career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.”

Culver had largely stopped acting in the early 2000s to concentrate on political activism, unusually becoming more outspoken as he got older. He was a major...

'Star Wars' actor Michael Culver has died aged 85.The star, best known for his role as Captain Lorth Needa in the 1980 film 'The Empire Strikes Back', passed away last month after a long illness – his agent has revealed.His character was strangled by Darth Vader in the sci-fi flick in one of the popular franchise's most memorable death scenes.Aside from 'Star Wars', Culver had a major part in the historical epic 'A Passage to India' as the bigoted police inspector Major McBryde.He also had two uncredited roles in the James Bond films 'From Russia With Love' and 'Thunderball'.A statement from the actor's agents read: "We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver."A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in 'Sherlock Holmes', 'A Passage to India', 'Secret Army' and...

The entertainment industry received sad news this morning as it was announced that actor Michael Culver has passed away at the age of 85 after a prolonged illness. His agents released a statement confirming the news.

We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver. A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ ‘A Passage to India,’ ‘Secret Army’ and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. Michael largely gave up acting in the early 2000s to concentrate his efforts on his political activism. It’s been an honor to have represented Michael for for the last decade and to have taken him to some of the best ‘Star Wars’ events in the UK and Europe. A real highlight was taking Michael to Celebration in Chicago in 2019. He was lost for words when he saw...

The world of entertainment was shaken this morning when the news broke that actor Michael Culver has died following a long health battle at the age of 85. His agents went public with the following statement:

We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver. A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ ‘A Passage to India,’ ‘Secret Army’ and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. Michael largely gave up acting in the early 2000s to concentrate his efforts on his political activism. It’s been an honor to have represented Michael for for the last decade and to have taken him to some of the best ‘Star Wars’ events in the UK and Europe. A real highlight was taking Michael to Celebration in Chicago in 2019. He was lost for words when he saw...

Bruce Montague, who starred in the Doctor Who audio dramas and Hollyoaks, has died at the age of 83.

The actor’s death was confirmed by his agents at Belfield & Ward, who said in a social media tribute: “We are very sad to report that the glorious Bruce Montague has passed away. Such a gentleman and he will be so sorely missed.

“What a talent and what a career on stage and screen! From Butterfliesto more recently Funny Girl & 42nd St. Rest well darling man! 24/3/39-16/8/22.”

A cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

Montague had been a regular fixture on TV since 1963, when he starred in the sci-fi series Dimensions of Fear.

Born in March 1939, Montague’s career spanned almost six decades, with the actor starring in over 300 TV productions.

In the Sixties and Seventies, he starred in the TV shows Crane, The Link Men, Secret Army and the sitcom Butterflies,...

Not only is Latino-Review.com getting into the movie making business but the digital comic book publishing business as well.

Check out below the Hot cover to our first comic book by dope artist Mark Alvarado (who is absolutely Crushing it for us) called Praetorian, the official prequel comic book which leads into Breakneck.

What is Praetorian? Back in the day during the Roman Empire, the Praetorian Guard were a special force of skilled and celebrated troops serving as the personal guard of Roman Emperors. You seen them in movies like Gladiator. Many of our Tier One Operators in the armed services like Seal Team Six aka Devgru are considered a modern day Praetorian Guard.

Being a huge G.I. Joe comic book fan growing up as a kid, my interest in Black Ops and Tier One Operators continue to this day with such comic books as Nathan Edmonson’s excellent The Activity.

Quite often ghosts are described as spirits who cannot bear to leave their loved ones. That appears to be the case in this week’s Doctor Who adventure, as an old house seems to be the home of a creature (or two) that makes you want to run and… Hide by Neil Cross Directed by Jamie Payne Caluburn House is home to a roaming spirit who has been appearing for centuries, calling for help. A former espionage agent and his assistant are dedicated to discovering her secrets when The Doctor arrives. It’s evident quite quickly that the ghost is not all she appears to be…and she is not alone. The Doctor is stranded, and Clara has to get past what appears to be a resentment by the Tardis to save him. Bluntly, this is the story people were expecting when they heard Neil Cross was writing for Doctor Who.

Stars from the British sitcom 'Allo 'Allo are to reunite at the Spring Memorabilia Show at the NEC this weekend (March 26 to 27).

Cast members from the series, which aired on BBC1 from 1982 to 1992, will be at the event on both days to host panels, meet fans, sign autographs and pose for photographs.

Conceived as a parody of wartime drama Secret Army, the classic comedy took place in a French town occupied by the Germans during World War 2 - complete with a cast of Resistance agents, incompetent Nazis, bemused Raf airmen, buxom French beauties and a linguistically-challenged British spy.

Those attending the convention include Guy Siner (who played effete panzer commander Lieutenant Hubert Gruber), Richard Gibson (dastardly Gestapo officer Herr Otto Flick), Arthur Bostrom (Rugby's vowel-mangling spy Officer Crabtree), Kirsten Cooke (local resistance leader Michelle Dubois), Kim Hartman (Herr Flick's love interest Private Helga Geerhart), John D Collins (downed Raf airman...

A BBC Radio 4 program last year -- and just rebroadcast last week -- goes into some detail about why the Doctor Who story “Shada” was never broadcast, and more: Shaun Ley recounts how the political circumstances of the late 1970s resulted in three of the most popular TV series' of the time - Dr Who, Secret Army and The Professionals - each having at least one episode scrapped after filming. Interviewees include the then Dr Who, Tom Baker. You can listen online -- even in the U.S.! -- here, but only till this evening. (Thanks to John for the link. If you stumble across a cool Doctor Who thing, feel free to email me with a link.)...

Two alumni of the classic series of Doctor Who have recently died.

Hubert Rees had three roles in the series working with two different Doctors.

He first appeared in the 1968 story Fury from the Deep, working alongside Patrick Troughton. He played the Chief Engineer, the head of engineering at a Euro Sea Gas refinery who assisted the Doctor in his efforts to defeat the Weed Creature. Rees returned to the series the following year in Troughton's swan song, The War Games, in which he played Captain Ransom, an officer in the British Army. His final appearance was in the 1976 Tom Baker story The Seeds of Doom, playing John Stevenson, a botanist at a scientific expedition in Antarctic.

Outside of Doctor Who he had roles in many well-known dramas, including Paul Temple, The Sweeney, The Duchess of Duke Street, By the Sword Divided and Howards' Way.

Max Faulkner, born in 1931, was...

A forthcoming BBC Radio 4 documentary is to examine what led to the cancellation of Shada - the six-part Fourth Doctor story originally intended to end Doctor Who's 17th season.

Shelved takes a look at three TV programmes that were made in 1979 but which never aired because of socio-political, industrial or cultural problems. The three comprise a particularly violent episode of ITV show The Professionals, the last episode of BBC series Secret Army, and Shada.

Interviewees for the Shada segment are Tom Baker, director Pennant Roberts and Jeremy Bentham - the Doctor Who historian, author, former associate editor of Doctor Who Magazine and co-founder of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. The story, which was never completed at the time because of a BBC strike, would have been broadcast in January and February 1980.

The 30-minute documentary is scheduled to be broadcast on Saturday, December 12 at 10.30am, and it is understood it...