David Warner Dead the veteran British actor, and star of Hollywood hits such as Titanic and The Omen, has died. He was 80. Warner died on Sunday at Denville Hall, a care home for members of the entertainment industry from “a cancer-related illness,” the BBC first reported. The actor’s family confirmed the news “with an overwhelmingly heavy heart” in a statement to the outlet. “Over the past 18 months he approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity,” the statement read.
Live David Warner Dead “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. We are heartbroken.” Born in Manchester, England, in July 1941, Warner studied at the prestigious British drama school the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and first won acclaim for his titular role opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the 1966 British film Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment for which he was nominated for a BAFTA.
In 1981, Warner, whose varied career spanned cinema, theater, and television, won a Supporting Actor Emmy for his performance as a Roman senator in the ABC miniseries Masada.
Warner’s big screen credits include the popular 1970s horror flick The Omen – he played a reporter who runs afoul of the devil and, in a memorable scene, is beheaded by a sheet of glass – and James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic, in which he played Spicer Lovejoy, Billy Zane’s mischievous enforcer.
Live David Warner Dead It was his role in the 1966 film Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment, in which he starred alongside Dame Vanessa Redgrave, that earned him a leading actor BAFTA nomination. His role in the 1980s series Masada, which was fronted by Peter O’Toole and saw Warner playing Roman politician Pomponius Falco, earned him an Emmy.
Amid his success, Warner suffered chronic stage fright brought on by the skin condition psoriasis and prioritized TV and film parts over the theatre. But in 2001, he returned to the stage after nearly 30 years to play Andrew Undershaft in a Broadway revival of George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara.
In later years he starred in the films You, Me, And Him and also featured in 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns as retired naval officer Admiral Boom, who was portrayed by Reginald Owen in the original film. Warner also had an extensive list of theatre credits, having been a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he starred in productions of The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and Henry VI. He is survived by his partner Lisa Bowerman, his son Luke and daughter-in-law Sarah.
