David Warner Passes Away at 80

Trek Radio is saddened to learn the news that we have lost another Star Trek legend, David Warner.

IMDB.com

David Warner, the Emmy-nominated English actor whose six-decade career included roles in “Titanic,” “Star Trek” and “The Omen,” died Sunday in London at age 80.

The Manchester-born Warner died of a cancer-related illness, his family announced Monday in a statement obtained by various news outlets

“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 at that time as well, notably appearing as Blifil in the Albert Finney-led 1963 adventure-comedy “Tom Jones,” which won the Oscar for best picture.

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 Senator Pomponius Falco in the miniseries “Masada,” which depicts the siege of a citadel during the First Jewish–Roman War.

In 1982, Warner captivated ENCOM executive Ed Dillinger in the science-fiction film “Tron,” serving as a villain opposite Jeff Bridges’ protagonist.

He played a similarly memorable character in James Cameron’s 1997 smash hit “Titanic” in Spicer Lovejoy, the bodyguard and valet of the film’s antagonist, Cal Hockley, played by Billy Zane.

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 is survived by his partner, the actor Lisa Bowerman, and by Melissa and Luke, the children of his second marriage, to Sheilah Kent, which ended in divorce.

by Tia "Blindbat" Jenkins