A staple of British television, he played Churchill three times over a long career. Onstage, he was King Lear, Macbeth and Willy Loman.

LONDON — British actor Timothy West, who played wartime leader Winston Churchill on three occasions and the classic titular Shakespeare roles of Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth, has died, He was 90. In a statement, his children said that West died "peacefully" in his sleep “with his friends and family at the end."

Mr. West appeared in the popular serials “Coronation Street” and “Eastenders,” then later explored Britain’s waterways with his wife, actress Prunella Scales.

British actor Timothy West, who played the classic Shakespeare roles of King Lear and Macbeth and in recent years along with his wife, Prunella Scales, enchanted millions of people with their boating exploits on Britain's waterways,

"All of us will miss him terribly," his three children Juliet, Samuel, and Joseph West wrote in a statement Timothy West, an acclaimed British actor known for his work on The Day of the Jackal, has died at age 90,