Irvin Kershner dead at 87

Director Irvin Kershner, probably the last man employed by George Lucas to ever dare to disagree with him, and who together with writer Leigh Brackett can probably be given much of the credit with making "The Empire Strikes Back" the great movie that it was, passed away on November 29 in his Los Angeles home after a long illness. He was 87.

Born in Philadelphia in 1923, Kershner trained as a musician and in photography before entering the film business in 1950. He first made documentaries about the Middle East, but turned to feature films in the 1960s. He directed a total of 17 movies--among them"The Empire Strikes Back", "Never Say Never Again", "Robocop II" and "The Eyes of Laura Mars"--and around a dozen episodes of television series before retiring in 1997.