British actor Stephen Greif, who appeared in such series as the BBC’s Blake’s 7, Citizen Smith and EastEnders as well as Netflix’s The Crown, has died. His representatives announced the news in a Twitter post. No cause of death was revealed. He was 78.
Greif’s long career spanned theater, television and film. Born in Hertfordshire, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to become a member of the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic and Southbank, the UK Press Association reported.
Starring on stage throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Greif segued to television and landed the role of space commander Travis in sci-fi adventure series Blake’s 7. The show ran from 1978-1981 and also starred Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Michael Keating and Sally Knyvette.
Greif’s credits also included such other series as Citizen Smith, Tales of the Unexpected, Doctors, Coronation Street, The Bill and EastEnders. He also appeared in an episode of ABC’s Hart to Hart and in ABC mini-series The Last Days of Pompeii. More recently, he appeared in TNT limited series The Alienist and in Season 4 of The Crown, he portrayed Speaker of the House Sir Bernard Weatherill.
Feature credits included 2015’s The Woman in Gold, 2005’s Casanova and The Upside of Anger and 2004’s Spartan.
A statement from his reps at Michelle Braidman Associates read, “With great sadness we announce the death of our wonderful client Stephen Greif… We will miss him dearly and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
