Actor Michael Culver is probably best known for playing Captain Needa in the 1980 film “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” According to IMDB, other notable credits include “Breakaway,” “A Passage to India,” and “Armchair Thriller.”

On March 12, 2024, Culver’s agency, Alliance Agents, shared the sad news of Culver’s death on their Facebook page. In the post, his agency wrote, “We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver.”

Alliance Agents went on to share some highlights from Culver’s career. They wrote, “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’s most recent acting role was in 2016. Alliance Agents mentioned the fact that he hasn’t acted in the past few years. They wrote, “Michael largely gave up acting in the early 2000’s to concentrate his efforts into his political activism.”

Culver’s former agents called it an “honor” to represent the late actor “for the last decade and to have taken him to some of the best Star Wars events in the UK and Europe.”

Even thought Culver hasn’t acted in recent years, that didn’t mean that he was neglecting his fans. In fact, his agency called out one particular “highlight” from recent years. They wrote, “A real highlight was taking Michael to Celebration in Chicago in 2019. He was lost for words when he saw his queue line with nearly 200 people waiting to see him.”

Alliance Agents worked with Culver just three weeks ago. They shared, “We worked with Michael just 3 weeks ago at his last home signing with our friends at Elite Signatures.”

Culver died on February 27, 2024. He was 85 years old. Alliance Agents did not include a cause of death in their post.

In his personal life, Culver was married two times. His first marriage was to actressLucinda Curtis in 1963. They had three children together, but their marriage ultimately ended in divorce.

Culver’s second marriage was to Amanda Ward. They got married in 2004, and they remained married until Culver’s death. Culver is survived by Ward and his children Roderic, Sue and Justin.