His voice can be heard for only a minute in “The Empire Strikes Back,” but it provided the first draft of a character that would be a mainstay of the franchise for decades.

The legendary voice actor behind one of the “Star Wars” franchise’s most chilling villains died just weeks before his 95th birthday. Clive Revill, known for playing the voice of Emperor Palpatine in “The Empire Strikes Back,” died on Mar. 11 at a care facility in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Clive Revill, who gave the evil Emperor Palpatine his voice in the “Star Wars” saga, has died. He was 94. Revill spoke only a few words in “The Empire Strikes Back,” the second film in the franchise released in 1980.