GOODBYE, IAN ABERCROMBIE...

The sad news has come in States-side that popular British actor Ian Abercrombie, most well known to STAR WARS fans as the voice of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (above) and Darth Sidious in the long-running THE CLONE WARS animated series, has passed away. He was 77. Amongst a diverse body of work, primarily in America, his popular fantasy genre credits would include TV series like TWIN PEAKS, BIRDS OF PREY, BABYLON 5, STAR TREK: VOYAGER, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, whilst noted film work included THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, ARMY OF DARKNESS and THE ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES. Abercrombie's distinctive voice also see in a very popular career in numerous animated series, including THE CLONE WARS and films like the recently released, Johnny Depp starring RANGO.


His friend and Supervising Animation Director on THE CLONE WARS series, Dave Filoni, posted this lovely tribute to the fine actor on his FACEBOOK page:


Today is a very sad day for Star Wars fans, as we lost a dear friend in Ian Abercrombie. You know him better as the voice of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine on The Clone Wars. I cannot express how thankful I am to have had the opportunity to work with Ian. He was extremely passionate about his role on the series and he was brilliant at it. I always called him “Chancellor” no matter where we were, in the studio or out at a restaurant. I think he enjoyed that a great deal. I learned so much from him about directing actors, and working with dialog. His advice and mentoring will be sorely missed by all of us. Though he played a villain on our show, you would be hard pressed to meet a kinder person. He loved to laugh and his sense of humor always lightened our record sessions. I will miss his stories, I will miss his performances, and I will miss his contribution to our show. 

My friend, the Force will be with you, always, and you will never be forgotten. 

Farewell

Dave

Ian Abercrombie: 1934 - 2012

Our condolences and best wishes go out to Mister Abercrombie's family and friends in this sad time.