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‘The Crown’ Actor Dies Following ‘Short Illness’: David Killick Was 87

The actor appeared in the fifth season of the hit Netflix show.

(Credit: Liudmila Chernetska / Getty Images)

British actor David Killick, who most recently appeared in Netflix’s The Crown, has died at the age of 87.

The actor passed away “peacefully” at St John’s Hospice, North London, on Friday following a “short illness,” his agent, Stanton Davidson Associates, confirmed.

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“It is with great sadness that we must announce the passing of our much loved friend and client David Killick, who died peacefully on Friday 4th July at St John’s Hospice, North London after a short illness,” the statement read. “David was an actor for over 60 years, loved the business and his fellow actors, and was loved and respected in his turn by all who were lucky enough to work with him. He will be sorely missed.”

Killick was a familiar face on British TV for decades and most recently appeared opposite Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth in the fifth season of Netflix’s historical drama The Crown in 2022. The actor appeared as a Mess President in the episode “Annus Horribilis,” which featured the queen’s famous “annus horribilis” speech as she commemorated and reassessed her 40 years on the throne.

Prior to his appearance on the Netflix drama, Killick, who was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, England in 1938, per his IMDb profile, starred as a pathologist across multiple episodes of the British mystery drama series A Touch of Frost from 1992 until 1995.

The actor began his career with a role in the ITV epic war film A Bridge Too Far, and went on to star in shows such as World’s Beyond, No Place Like Home, Lovejoy, The Famous Five, Midsomer Murders, and Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators.

Outside of his TV work, Killick also enjoyed a career on the stage, starring in productions of A Room With A View, The Importance of Being Ernest, The Crucible, Witness for the Prosecution, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. He also worked as a voice actor in Doctor Who: The Lost Stories and The Judgement of Sherlock Holmes.

Paying tribute to the star, the team behind Witness for the Prosecution, which marked Killick’s most recent stage appearance, said he brought “warmth and gravitas to the courtroom” in his role as the Judge in 2024. They added, “An actor for over 60 years, he loved the business and his fellow actors, and was loved and respected in return by all who were lucky enough to work with him. He will be sorely missed. We send all our love to his family.”