The West Wing and Cheers actor Roger Rees had died at the age of 71, his representative confirmed.

Rick Miramontez said Rees died on Friday night at his home in New York after a brief illness. The actor had abruptly left Durrenmatt’s The Visit on Broadway in late May to undergo a medical procedure.

Wales-born Rees was an accomplished stage star who won Tony and Olivier Awards in 1982 for his role as the title character in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby.

He was familiar to television audiences as Robin Colcord, a millionaire love interest for Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) in 1980s comedy Cheers and more recently as British ambassador Lord John Marbury in cult US political drama The West Wing from 2000 to 2005.

Roger Rees has died
(Sylvain Gaboury/AP)

Among his other credits was an appearance as the Sheriff of Rottingham in Mel Brooks’ slapstick comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993.

Fans paid tribute on Twitter.

Rees, originally an artist, turned to acting in the 1960s. Reports in the US, where he had lived for more than 25 years, said he had died after a short illness. He is survived by his husband, the playwright Rick Elise.