'Flash Gordon' Director Mike Hodges Dies At 90 Due To Heart Failure

British director Mike Hodges, best known for his films "Get Carter" and "Flash Gordon," has died. He was 90 years of age.

Producer and longtime friend Mike Kaplan, who collaborated with Hodges on his final feature film "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," confirmed to NBC News that the director died at his home in Dorset, England due to heart failure.

Following the news of Hodges' death, celebrities shared their condolences for the deceased director on Twitter. In his tribute to Hodges, the renowned film and comic book writer, Brian Lynch wrote in a tweet Tuesday, "Mike Hodges, director of FLASH GORDON, has passed. Finally saw this movie during the pandemic and it brought me such joy. Have watched it a bunch of times since. Nothing else like it. Rest in peace, sir."

Hodges' wife, Carol Laws, and his two sons, Ben and Jake Hodges have yet to issue a statement on the director's passing.

Born in 1932, Hodges first worked as an accountant in Bristol before spending two years serving as a Royal Navy minesweeper in northern England in the 1950s. In a previous letter to the Guardian, the late director said it was there that he "witnessed horrendous poverty and deprivation that I was previously unaware of," adding that he came out of the job as an "angry, radical young man."

Hodges went on to enter show business as a teleprompter operator and a scriptwriter on British television. He soon moved into producing and directing news and documentary series, his first projects being ITV Playhouse thrillers "Rumour" and "Suspect."

Following the success of his series, Hodges was approached to adapt Ted Lewis's novel "Get Carter," which became a massive hit in 1971. He later revealed that his experience in the Royal Navy minesweeper had inspired him to do the film.

"Twenty years later, when I was asked to adapt Ted Lewis's great book, I recognized that world and attached my own experiences to it," he told The Guardian.

Hodges' second film, "Pulp," came a year after the release of "Get Carter." He rose to prominence in the 1980s with the release of the campy cult classic "Flash Gordon." The film was so successful that it continues to be referenced in pop culture to this day.

The late director's TV credits include the 1984 series "Squaring the Circle" and the 1995 series "Dandelion Dead."