Tilvern was born in 1918, in Orrendina, in the East End of London, to Jewish Lithuanian parents, who changed their name from Tilovitch.
After leaving school, he became a barrow boy in Brick Lane. In the Second World War he served in the Army but was invalided out before its end in 1945. A year later he began an acting career that lasted until the late 1980s. He is possibly best known for his role as R. K. Maroon in his last film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Tilvern died on 17 December 2003, at the age of 85.
