Roger Rees, the Tony Award-winning actor best known as millionaire Robin Colcord on "Cheers," died Friday after a yearlong bout with cancer. He was 71.
"The world’s lost a great actor, a great soul, a great gentleman," said Chita Rivera, Rees' co-star in "The Visit" musical this year,
The New York Times reported. "I’ve lost a new friend that I was really looking forward to spending the rest of my life with, getting to know him."
Rees' career spanned six decades across stage, television, and film.
In addition to "Cheers," Rees was also known to American audiences as the British ambassador Lord John Marbury on "The West Wing," and appeared recently on "The Good Wife."
In Mel Brooks’ 1993 film "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" he played the Sheriff of Rottingham, and he also appeared in the 2006 movie "The Prestige."
Rees was born in Aberystwyth, Wales. His parents were a police officer and shop clerk. He worked as a set painter at the Wimbledon Theater in south London, and landed a role as an actor in 1965. He appeared at the Royal Shakespeare Company two years later.
After playing the title character in the Royal Shakespeare Company's original production of Charles Dickens' "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby," Rees won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award.
Rees is survived by his husband, Rick Elice, the "Jersey Boys" playwright. They married in 2011, and collaborated on "Peter and the Starcatcher."