Gerald Home (18 October 1950 – 6 October 2021) was a British actor best known for playing Tessek and the Mon Calamari Officer Captain Verrack in ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

''.

Early life

Home was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, on 18 October 1950, and emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

with his family when he was 16. He finished his education in Australia, and spent three years there as an actor and teacher, before returning to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to train at The

Drama Studio London Drama Studio London (often abbreviated as DSL) is a British drama school in London. It is accredited by the Federation of Drama Schools. The principal is Emma Lucia Hands. The Drama Studio London was started in 1966 by Peter Layton. It focus ...

, and graduated in July 1977.

Career

Home filmed minor roles in ''

'', and worked as a puppeteer on ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 American film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986 film), a 1986 American film based on th ...

'', operating Audrey II the flesh-eating plant. Other film work includes ''

London Boulevard ''London Boulevard'' is a 2010 British crime thriller film written and directed by William Monahan (in his directorial debut), based on Ken Bruen's 2001 novel of the same name. The film stars Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, and Ray Winstone. It ...

'' and Hideo Nakata's ''

Chatroom The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...

''. His television appearances include: ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', ''The Boot Street Band'', ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...

'', ''

Situation Critical ''Critical Situation'' (also known as ''Situation Critical'' in the UK) is an American documentary television series. Produced in conjunction with the National Geographic Channel, the series examined various disasters or violent incidents. The ...

'', '' Jenny's War'', ''

Keeping Mum ''Keeping Mum'' is a 2005 British black comedy film co written and directed by Niall Johnson and starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. It was produced by Isle of Man Film, Azure Films and Tusk Pr ...

'', ''

Harry's Mad ''Harry's Mad'' was a children's television programme that was shown on CITV in the United Kingdom between 4 January 1993 and 11 March 1996. It is based upon a book written by Dick King-Smith. Steve Attridge originally adapted the book and wrot ...

'', ''

Time Gentlemen Please ''Time Gentlemen Please'' is a British sitcom primarily written by Richard Herring and Al Murray and broadcast on Sky One from 2000 to 2002. Premise The show is set in a forgotten, unwelcoming pub whose opinionated landlord, "Guv" (short for " ...

'', '' Pay & Display'', ''Paul Dreams of Bette'', ''

The Scarlet and the Black ''The Scarlet and the Black'' is a 1983 Italian-American international co-production made-for-television historical war drama film directed by Jerry London, and starring Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer. Based on J. P. Gallagher's book ''Th ...

'' and ''

Shane Shane may refer to: People * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with this name * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born ...

''. He was the original Mr. Muscle in a series of '' Mr. Muscle'' television commercials. In the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

he appeared in stage productions ''

No Sex Please, We're British ''No Sex Please, We're British'' is a British farce written by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott, which premiered in London's West End on 3 June 1971 at the Strand Theatre. It was panned by critics, but ran until 5 September 1987, transferr ...

'' at the Strand Theatre, in ''

The Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'' at the Arts Theatre and in ''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' () is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Liebmann, with uncredite ...

'' with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Gielgud Theatre. He was in ten plays at the Polka Theatre in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he lived.

Death

Home died from

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

on 6 October 2021, at the age of 70.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Gerald Home official website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Home, Gerald 1950 births 2021 deaths Alumni of the Drama Studio London Male film actors from Northern Ireland Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland Male actors from Belfast 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland 21st-century male actors from Northern Ireland British puppeteers Deaths from liver cancer