Wellington's Circa Theatre, which Tilly helped found in the 1970s, announced his death yesterday, saying he would be sorely missed following a great contribution to New Zealand theatre.
According to NZ On Screen, Tilly's resume, which went back to the 1960s, included such landmark plays as Foreskin's Lament and Middle Age Spread, television series Gliding On and movies The Governor and Carry Me Back.
He was closely associated with playwright Roger Hall, appearing in many of his works at Circa.
Hall said Tilly's death was a great loss to New Zealand theatre.
He first saw Tilly on stage in 1959 and wrote the part of Dickie Hart in C'Mon Black! with Tilly in mind, he told NZ Newswire.
"Any part he took on he absolutely lit up the stage."
Tilly also was a skilled set designer and later in his career turned his hand to art, producing paintings, drawings and wood pieces.
During the 1970s and 1980s Tilly also worked as an illustrator for a series of cityscape articles by David McGill in Wellington's Evening Post newspaper.
Tilly had been collaborating with McGill on a book, The Compleat Cityscapes, about heritage Wellington buildings due to be launched next month.
McGill said Tilly was keen to get to the launch and it was untimely he died before he could see it happen.
"It's very sad we didn't manage the launch, but he lives on in these paintings and drawings in this book."
McGill said it was very hard to put a finger on why Tilly was such a funny actor, but he could also play a vast range of characters.
"I don't anybody was as absolutely riveting on stage."
Tilly had three sons with his first wife Fay and a daughter with his second wife Ruth.
