Irvin Kershner, 'The Empire Strikes Back' director, dies at 87

 

Irvin Kershner — who directed the "Star Wars" sequel "The Empire Strikes Back," the James Bond film "Never Say Never Again" and "Robocop 2" — has died. He was 87.

Kershner died Saturday in Los Angeles after a long illness, said Adriana Santini, a France-based actress who is a family friend.

Kershner already had made a number of well-received movies when he was hired by George Lucas to direct "Empire," which was the second produced but fifth in the "Star Wars" chronology.

The 1980 production was a darker story than the original. In it, hero Luke Skywalker loses a hand and learns that villain Darth Vader is his father. The movie initially got mixed reviews but has gone on to become one of the most critically praised.

Kershner told Vanity Fair in October that he tried to give the sequel more depth than the original.

"When I finally accepted the assignment, I knew that it was going to be a dark film, with more depth to the characters than in the first film," he said. "It took a few years for the critics to catch up with the film and to see it as a fairy tale rather than a comic book."

Kershner said he had only one sharp disagreement with Lucas. The script originally called for the heroine, Princess Leia, to tell space pilot Han Solo "I love you" and for him to reply "I love you, too."

"I shot the line and it just didn't seem right for the character of Han Solo," Kershner said.

Instead, actor Harrison Ford improvised the reply: "I know."

Lucas wanted the original line but after test previews agreed to leave in Ford's reply, which has gone on to be one of the best-known lines in the series.

The Philadelphia-born Kershner had both musical and photographic training and worked as a freelance illustrator before he turned to filmmaking. He graduated from the USC film school and in the 1950s made U.S. government informational films in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.

He was a director and cameraman for a television documentary series called "Confidential File" in Los Angeles before getting his first movie break in 1958 when Roger Corman hired him to shoot a low-budget feature called "Stakeout on Dope Street."

He went on to direct a number of noted features in the 1960s and 1970s, including "A Fine Madness" with Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward and Jean Seberg, "The Flim-Flam Man" with George C. Scott, "Loving" with George Segal and Eva Marie Saint, and "The Eyes of Laura Mars" with Faye Dunaway.

The 1976 television movie "Raid on Entebbe" earned him an Emmy nomination for direction.

Besides "Empire," his big-budget work included the 1983 James Bond movie "Never Say Never Again" with Connery and "Robocop 2" in 1990.

Kershner also occasionally acted. He played the priest Zebedee in Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ."

More later at www.latimes.com/obits.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Director Irvin Kershner speaks with actress Carrie Fisher during the filming of "The Empire Strikes Back." Credit: Courtesy Lucasfilm / MCT

Comments

[Spang]

We just lost a wonderful one. Rest well, Kersh

[michael g]

So long, Irvin Kirshner. Saw you once at USC when they had a special pre-screening of "The Empire Strikes Back" for the Film School and its alumni. Great evening of great Trojans... Saw "Never Say Never Again" its opening night at Graman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood-- the audience was looking so forward to seeing Sean Connery again in a shoulder holster, there was a papable vibe of electricity in the sold-out house. The theme song and opening credits still stand out, the whole audience was just cheering the entire credit sequence. Too bad the new Bonds are such a stumbling mess... Rest In Peace, good Trojan.

[D. Laszlo Conhaim]

A caring and generous mentor when I was a student in the (then) Drama Division of USC's film school, Kersh invited me up to his home in Franklin Canyon whenever I wished to share my writings, film performance ("Lion's Den"), or simply to learn from him. He had much of lasting impact to share with a youth in his formative years. And, memorably, in his kitchen he had a giant framed picture of Yoda.