Michael Pennington, 1943 – 2026

British actor Michael Pennington, 82, died on May 10. He was best-known to film fans as Moff Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back, but much of his career was spent onstage. Pennington was a regular with the Royal Shakespeare Company, touring throughout the UK and playing on the West End, in both Shakespeare and the moderns (he also starred as Shakespeare in the one-man show Sweet William, and co-founded the English Shakespeare Company). He also appeared onscreen in The Iron Lady, and was frequently seen on TV (Middlemarch, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Cracker, The Bill, Holby City, The Tudors, Father Brown). He wrote numerous books on acting and Shakespeare. Pennington’s frequent costar Judi Dench recalled, “He had a wonderful sense of humour, though he didn't behave as badly as I did; in fact, he frequently pulled me back. He's always been there, a rock-like friend. But mostly it's been about having fun and being badly behaved. Though he's not as uncontrolled as I can get: once he ate a lot of garlic before a love scene; I think I punched him for that.”