{"id":47586,"date":"2015-12-07T01:32:29","date_gmt":"2015-12-07T01:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=47586"},"modified":"2015-12-07T01:32:29","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T01:32:29","slug":"clive-revills-star-wars-first-and-columbo-conclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/12\/07\/clive-revills-star-wars-first-and-columbo-conclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Clive Revill\u2019s Star Wars First and Columbo Conclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Clive<\/a>

Holgram of Stars Emperor voiced by Revill, with Peter Falk in Columbo.<\/p><\/div>\n

As the world prepares to briefly suspend reality and escape to a galaxy far, far away when \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens\u201d is released nationwide on Dec. 18, Clive Revill probably won\u2019t be among the millions flocking to movie theaters.<\/p>\n

But as any Star Wars fan worth his weight in action figures knows, Revill was cast as the original voice of the Emperor in \u201cStar Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a call from the director, Irvin Kershner, who I\u2019d worked with on \u2018A Fine Madness,\u2019\u201d recalled Revill from his home in Los Angeles. \u201cHe needed a voice for the Emperor who would be only appearing as a holographic image. So I tried it several times and found it worked best with no emotion whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although his scene with Darth Vader spanned barely a minute in the original theatrical release, his voice was replaced in the 2004 DVD by Ian McDiarmid\u2019s who went on the play the Emperor in Episode VI and the three prequels. Yet fans still line up to meet Revill at sci-fi conventions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come up to me and I tell them to get close and shut their eyes. Then I say (in the Emperor\u2019s haunting voice) \u2018There is a great disturbance in the Force.\u2019 People turn white and one nearly fainted!\u201d<\/p>\n

Revill remains indifferent about the voice replacement. \u201cI was the original Emperor, but they wanted continuity with the later movies. They made a good choice with McDiarmid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in New Zealand, Revill moved to London in 1950 where he studied acting at the famed Old Vic Theatre. He traveled the U.K. working in traditional stage productions, eventually finding his way to Broadway and Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first film I vividly remember working on is \u2018Modesty Blaise,\u2019\u201d said Revill of the 1966 spy spoof in which he played a Scotsman, but convinced the director he could pull off a second role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got the makeup man to transform me into an Arab, then marched over to (director) Joseph Losey who was drinking in his hotel room. The makeup and my accent were so good, he didn\u2019t recognize me until I said \u2018Joe, it\u2019s Clive\u2019 and he almost dropped his drink. So I ended up with the two roles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revill\u2019s talent for accents, dialects and even singing were showcased in the 1978 Columbo episode, \u201cThe Conspirators,\u201d where Revill played a jovial but deadly Irishman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the last episode Peter Falk did in the original Columbo series,\u201d he noted.\u00a0\u201cBut there was no sense of regret on the set that the show was ending. Peter and I had a lot of creative fun interacting with each other\u2019s characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 85, Revill says he has retired from acting although he doesn\u2019t rule out future voice work. And while he remains amazed that his one minute involvement in a Star Wars film still resonates with fans today, he says he\u2019s never seen a Star Wars film. But he understands their appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople can detach from their reality and live in this other fantasy reality for a short while,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the magic of film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 600 magazines and newspapers. Follow @TinseltownTalks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the world prepares to briefly suspend reality and escape to a galaxy far, far away when \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens\u201d is released nationwide…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nClive Revill\u2019s Star Wars First and Columbo Conclusion - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/12\/07\/clive-revills-star-wars-first-and-columbo-conclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clive Revill\u2019s Star Wars First and Columbo Conclusion - 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