The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner died in Los Angeles after a long illness, his goddaughter told AFP on Monday. He was 87.
Aside from the Star Wars classic, Kershner also directed the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983) as well as Robocop II (1990).
According to CBC, Kershner instructed George Lucas at the film school at the University of Southern California before Lucas asked him to direct the second Star Wars film.
Kershner was born in Philadelphia and started off studying photography, painting, and music. In the 1950s, he filmed documentaries in Iran, Turkey, and Greece for the United States Information Service.
Many have praised The Empire Strikes Back as being the best of the original Star Wars movies. The film has one of the most famous movie scenes and lines of all time when Darth Vader tells protagonist Luke Skywalker that “I am your father” near the end of the film.
Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian in Empire, told E! Online that Kershner was a “mountain of a man.”
Aside from the Star Wars classic, Kershner also directed the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983) as well as Robocop II (1990).
According to CBC, Kershner instructed George Lucas at the film school at the University of Southern California before Lucas asked him to direct the second Star Wars film.
Kershner was born in Philadelphia and started off studying photography, painting, and music. In the 1950s, he filmed documentaries in Iran, Turkey, and Greece for the United States Information Service.
Many have praised The Empire Strikes Back as being the best of the original Star Wars movies. The film has one of the most famous movie scenes and lines of all time when Darth Vader tells protagonist Luke Skywalker that “I am your father” near the end of the film.
Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian in Empire, told E! Online that Kershner was a “mountain of a man.”
