The British actor was known to Star Wars fans as Moff Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi and was born in Cambridge in 1943.
Beyond film and television, he co-founded the English Shakespeare Company in 1986 and served as its joint artistic director until 1992.
Pennington also became an Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company and built a long career across stage, screen and television, including The Iron Lady and The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
How did a brief Star Wars role come to define a legendary Shakespearean actor's six-decade career?
Beyond the Death Star, what is the true theatrical legacy of the man who co-founded his own Shakespeare company?