Timothy West, Actor fromThe Day of the Jackaland More, Dies at 90

Mar. 15, 2025

Timothy West photographed on Aug. 19, 2024.Photo:Ray Tang/Shutterstock

Ray Tang/Shutterstock

Timothy West, an acclaimed British actor known for his work onThe Day of the Jackal, has died at age 90, according to his family.

“After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening,” the family wrote. “He was 90 years old.”

“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly,” the statement continued.

Timothy West and his wife Prunella Scales in their home on Dec. 13, 2023.Geoff Pugh/Shutterstock

Geoff Pugh/Shutterstock

They expressed their gratitude to “the incredible NHS staff at St George’s hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”

Several actors and public figures have paid their respects to West in light of the tragic news. Sports commentator Keith Olbermann wrote onX(formerly known as Twitter), “It can be of little comfort, Sam, but your father’s work was so authentic and empathetic that though I did not in reality know him - he made me feel as if I did. My sincere condolences.”

EastEndersalumTracy-Ann Obermancalled him “the most wonderful actor and human being.”

English broadcasterPiers Morganwrote, “RIP Timothy West, 90. A wonderful actor, and delightful man. My Life Stories interview with him, as the love of his life Prunella Scales sat in the audience, was so moving. They were married 61yrs, and his devotion to her after she developed Alzheimer’s was profoundly touching.”

West was born in West Yorkshire, England on Oct. 20, 1934. He had his first screen appearance in the 1960 BBC One miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen’s novelPersuasion. Throughout his career, he starred in several iconic, long-running British television shows, includingEastEnders,Coronation Street, andNot Going Out.

The actor also held roles in a variety of movies, including the hit 1973 political thrillerThe Day of the Jackal– which was nominated for one Academy Award and three Golden Globe awards. Other big screen credits are Luc Besson’s 1999 French epicThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, also starringMilla Jovovich,John Malkovich,Faye DunawayandDustin Hoffman, and the 2003 romantic dramaBeyond BorderswithAngelina JolieandClive Owen.

More recently, West starred in the BBC One and HBO television seriesGentlemen Jackfor its two seasons that aired between 2019 and 2022.

His last screen credit is the Nov. 13 episode “Go Out Dancing” of the British medical soap operaDoctors.

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West also frequented the theater scene and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the United Kingdom. His popular stage roles include playing the title roles in multiple productions of Shakespeare’sMacbethandKing Learand Chekhov’s’sUncle Vanya.

The actor was married toFawlty Towersstar Prunella Scales, 92, with whom he presented the Channel Four documentary seriesGreat Canal Journeysfrom 2014 to 2019.

source: people.com