Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Entertainment
Peter Sblendorio

David Warner, ‘Titanic’ and ‘Star Trek’ actor, dies at 80

David Warner, the Emmy-nominated English actor whose six-decade career included roles in “Titanic,” “Star Trek” and “The Omen,” died Sunday in London, his family said.

He was 80.

The Manchester-born Warner died of a cancer-related illness, his family announced Monday in a statement obtained by the Daily News.

“He will be missed hugely by us, his family and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous and compassionate man, partner and father whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years,” the family said. “We are heartbroken.”

Warner performed in more than 200 film, television and theater roles, including numerous Shakespearean productions. He began a stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company during the early 1960s, performing the title role in “Hamlet” and portraying Henry VI in “The Wars of The Roses.”

The actor broke into the film and TV industries around that time as well, notably appearing as Blifil in the Albert Finney-led 1963 adventure-comedy “Tom Jones.”

Warner starred alongside Gregory Peck and Lee Remick in the 1976 horror classic “The Omen,” portraying the photographer Keith Jennings, who joins Peck’s Robert as they search for answers about a mysterious child said to be the Antichrist.

Five years later, Warner earned the lone Emmy nomination of his career for his performance as Sen. Pomponius Falco in the miniseries “Masada,” which depicts the siege of a citadel during the First Jewish–Roman War.

Warner repeatedly appeared in different iterations of the “Star Trek” franchise, including playing an ambassador to the Nimbus III planet in the 1989 film “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.” He portrayed the chancellor Gorkon in 1991′s “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.”

He played Spicer Lovejoy in the 1997 movie “Titanic” directed by James Cameron, nearly two decades after appearing in another film, “S.O.S. Titanic,” depicting the shipwreck.

Warner continued to perform onstage into the 2000s, including portraying Falstaff in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Histories Cycle in 2008.

His final film was the 2018 sequel “Marry Poppins Returns” starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“So glad to have been able to express my admiration for David Warner’s incredible versatility and career in our time together on set,” Miranda tweeted Monday, sharing a throwback photo showing them together.

Warner died at the Denville Hall retirement home, where many professional actors have spent their later years.

“Over the past 18 months he approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity,” Warner’s family said.

“He is survived by his beloved partner Lisa Bowerman, his much-loved son Luke and daughter in-law Sarah, his good friend Jane Spencer Prior, his first wife Harriet Evans and his many gold dust friends.”

———

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.