• TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Star Wars Kids
Star Wars Logo

Search

My Account Logout
  • More More
    • NEWS + FEATURES
      • THE LATEST
      • ANDOR
      • CELEBRATION
      • QUIZZES + POLLS
      • BOOKS + COMICS
    • VIDEO
      • ALL VIDEO
      • THIS WEEK! IN STAR WARS
    • FILMS
    • SERIES
      • All Series
      • Andor
      • Skeleton Crew
      • Ahsoka
      • The Mandalorian
    • GAMES + INTERACTIVE
      • View All
      • Star Wars Outlaws
      • Games + Apps
      • VR + Immersive
    • DATABANK
      • ALL DATABANK
      • ERAS
    • DISNEY+
      • STREAM NOW
      • EXPLORE
      • THE DISNEY BUNDLE
Local Nav | Drop-Down Phase III - 20231020
Local Nav | Drop-Down Phase III - 20231020
My Account Logout
  • other
  • instagram
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube
  • other
STAR WARS | DISNEY+ STAR WARS ON DISNEY+

All

  • Andor
  • Star Wars Celebration
  • Skeleton Crew
  • The Mandalorian
  • Ahsoka
  • The Acolyte
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • The Book of Boba Fett
  • The Bad Batch
  • The Clone Wars
  • Visions
  • Behind the Scenes
  • Books + Comics
  • Characters + Histories
  • Collecting
  • Creativity
  • Disney Parks
  • Disney+
  • Events
  • Fans + Community
  • Films
  • Games + Apps
  • ILM
  • Interviews
  • LEGO Star Wars
  • Lucasfilm
  • Merchandise
  • Opinions
  • Quizzes + Polls
  • Recipes
  • Rogue One
  • Solo
  • Star Wars Day
  • Star Wars Rebels
  • Series
  • The High Republic
Films
Richard LeParmentier Remembered

Richard LeParmentier Remembered

Richard LeParmentier, known best by Star Wars fans for his role as Admiral Motti -- the Imperial who dared question Darth Vader and suffered the consequences -- has passed away at age 66.

no-author
April 16, 2013

Richard LeParmentier, known best by Star Wars fans for his role as Admiral Motti -- the Imperial who dared question Darth Vader and suffered the consequences -- has passed away at age 66.

+ Enlarge Image


Actor Richard LeParmentier, best remembered by Star Wars fans for his role as Admiral Motti, has passed away at age 66. Born in Pennsylvania, LeParmentier was living in the United Kingdom during the height of his acting career, where he made dozens of appearances in films and television.

LeParmentier's brief but unforgettable performance as Admiral Motti in the original Star Wars demonstrated both the lofty hubris of the Galactic Empire, and the rumbling power of the Force. LeParmentier has the distinction of being the first actor telekinetically throttled by Darth Vader on-screen for his disturbing lack of faith.

LeParmentier was one of the many actors who read for the part of Han Solo, but he was originally hired to play a Mos Eisley bureaucrat named Montross. Just prior to the start of production of Star Wars, this small part was cut from the film. "Then about a month later," LeParmentier told Star Wars Insider magazine in 1998, "the casting director phoned my agent and said, 'We'd like Richard to read for the part of Admiral Motti,' so they sent me another script and I read it, and I thought, 'Well, okay, it's two scenes at least, so I'll do that.'"

Aside from Star Wars, LeParmentier had memorable roles in Superman II, Octopussy, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He was immortalized in plastic in 2000, when an Admiral Motti action figure finally reached the hands of fans. The toy was articulated in such a way as to recreate the choking scene -- a gesture LeParmentier would good-naturedly reenact for fans during his many popular convention appearances. Admiral Motti received his full name, "Conan Antonio Motti," when creator George Lucas provided an off-the-cuff answer to a trivia questioned asked of him by talk show host Conan O'Brien in 2007.

Related Topics

Related Stories

  • Revenge of the Sith at 20: Return of Pablo Hidalgo’s Episode III Set Diaries
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Revenge of the Sith at 20: Return of Pablo Hidalgo’s Episode III Set Diaries

    May 20, 2025

    May 20, 2025

    May 20

  • Wookiee Basketball, Kid Han Solo, and a Kenobi Dummy: 20 Fun Facts about Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Wookiee Basketball, Kid Han Solo, and a Kenobi Dummy: 20 Fun Facts about Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

    May 19, 2025

    May 19, 2025

    May 19

  • An Ode to Grievous
    [object Object] [object Object]

    An Ode to Grievous

    May 19, 2025

    May 19, 2025

    May 19

  • Revenge of the Sith at 20: Revisiting the Cut Scenes
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Revenge of the Sith at 20: Revisiting the Cut Scenes

    May 4, 2025

    May 4, 2025

    May 4

  • Anakin Skywalker Himself Hayden Christensen Reflects on 20 Years of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Anakin Skywalker Himself Hayden Christensen Reflects on 20 Years of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

    April 29, 2025

    April 29, 2025

    Apr 29

  • Say Hello There to 20 Classic Quotes from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Say Hello There to 20 Classic Quotes from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

    April 3, 2025

    April 3, 2025

    Apr 3

  • Phantom at 25 | Iain McCaig Talks Darth Maul, Queen Amidala, and working with George Lucas
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Phantom at 25 | Iain McCaig Talks Darth Maul, Queen Amidala, and working with George Lucas

    October 29, 2024

    October 29, 2024

    Oct 29

  • Phantom at 25 | Skywalker Sound’s Matthew Wood Explains Why The Phantom Menace Was His Favorite Movie to Work On
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Phantom at 25 | Skywalker Sound’s Matthew Wood Explains Why The Phantom Menace Was His Favorite Movie to Work On

    September 4, 2024

    September 4, 2024

    Sep 4

More From Star Wars:
  • TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • SWKids
  • Terms of Use
  • Additional Content Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Disney Store | Star Wars
  • Star Wars Helpdesk
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved