The AFP reports that Irvin Kershner died on Saturday in Los Angeles at the age of 87. His goddaughter said that his death resulted from a "long illness."

Kershner, who was best known to Star Wars fans as the director of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, also directed RoboCop 2 and the Bond film Never Say Never Again.

All of us here at TheForce.Net and Rebelscum.com extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Mr. Kershner. His incredible work will never be forgotten.

Source: AFP (via io9)

UPDATE: StarWars.com has a statement from George Lucas, who says, "The world has lost a great director and one of the most genuine people I've had the pleasure of knowing. Irvin Kershner was a true gentleman in every sense of the word." Other websites, such as Wired's Underwire blog and MTV Movies, have also offered tributes.

UPDATE #2: CNN.com has posted an obituary that includes comments from Billy Dee Williams, longtime friend Barbra Streisand, and fellow director Francis Ford Coppola.

UPDATE #3: Responses continue to pour in and The Official Star Wars Blog has collected some of them. Click here for a post with thoughts from celebrities like Daniel Logan, Katie Lucas, Kyle Newman, Milo Ventimiglia, and Simon Pegg.

UPDATE #4: Continuing to pay tribute to Irvin Kershner, Starwars.com presents a 10 year old interview with the late director conducted by Scott Chernoff from Star Wars Insider #49