RIP Darth Vader

Lucky Day

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David Prowse, the Englishman that wore and acted in the Darth Vader costume for the first three films passed away.

https://www.starwars.com/news/david-prowse

He was also noted for playing Frankenstein's monster and training Christopher Reeves for his iconic role as Superman.

May the force be with you...always.
 
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It's a shame Disney wouldn't pay him royalties for newer movies and products. I fondly remember finding out Vader was both David Prowse and James Earl Jones.:)
 
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RIP, David.

Certainly part of my childhood memories. Sleep well.
 
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Rest in Peace, David Prowse. You and James Earl Jones gave birth to one of the most iconic characters in movies.
 
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May he rest in peace.

I was saddened to see him so alone, unnoticed by almost anyone, with his autographs booth on the German RPC fair a few years ago … That was the last time I saw him.

I never understood why he was never invited to the official fan meetings …

My most memorable moment was that tiny fan convention where he and his German "voice" from the German-language Star wars movies met. And rumor says that he got a signed autograph from the actor …

On another convention I asked him what he thought about the Darth Vader suit, and he said that his first impression was that it was rather "insect like".
 
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Most memorable quote (which of course he didn't say aloud), in Latin for the benefit of my oldest:

Luce, pater tuus sum!
Minime! Minime!

RIP!

a pibbur who prefers this version of DW above the younger one one (the one without the mask),
 
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I never understood why he was never invited to the official fan meetings …

Because of an old dispute. He was accused of having spoiled one of the main plot element of the Empire Strikes Back, before the film was released. He always denied it but George Lucas was pretty convinced. It also explains why his double got basically more screen time than him, in the Return of the Jedi.
 
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Because of an old dispute. He was accused of having spoiled one of the main plot element of the Empire Strikes Back, before the film was released. He always denied it but George Lucas was pretty convinced. It also explains why his double got basically more screen time than him, in the Return of the Jedi.

Yes, but at least after LucasFilm had been sold to Disney that shouldn't played any role anymore.
 
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Because of an old dispute. He was accused of having spoiled one of the main plot element of the Empire Strikes Back, before the film was released. He always denied it but George Lucas was pretty convinced. It also explains why his double got basically more screen time than him, in the Return of the Jedi.

The quote is from a 1978 newspaper article in Berkley, CA that someone kept

Star-Wars-Article1.jpg


In it, Prowse says it will be revealed in the third film. My suspicions is it was a leak by Lucas to gauge reaction over whether the original line should be kept in. However, the popular narrative is that Lucas was not happy over this but didn't fire Prowse.

However, the real reason he was banned from Star Wars conventions is because he started publicly criticizing George and asking for a percentage of the gross. Only Alec Guinness got a percentage because he asked for that in lieu of cash because Lucas couldn't afford him. No one realized that it would be more than a silly film including Sir Alec. Disney continued this ban and recast him in later movies.

There was a Netflix documentary I saw where fan filmmaker gets Prowse to redo the helmet removing scene. He even does a good James Earl Jones impression.
 
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In it, Prowse says it will be revealed in the third film. My suspicions is it was a leak by Lucas to gauge reaction over whether the original line should be kept in. However, the popular narrative is that Lucas was not happy over this but didn't fire Prowse.

However, the real reason he was banned from Star Wars conventions is because he started publicly criticizing George and asking for a percentage of the gross. Only Alec Guinness got a percentage because he asked for that in lieu of cash because Lucas couldn't afford him. No one realized that it would be more than a silly film including Sir Alec. Disney continued this ban and recast him in later movies.

There was a Netflix documentary I saw where fan filmmaker gets Prowse to redo the helmet removing scene. He even does a good James Earl Jones impression.


It was just a wild guess Dave had. He later complained about the lack of trust from Lucas who never shared with him the script of ESB or ROTJ. Only one actor knew, during the filming, and it was Mark Hamil. It's certain that publicly complaining about Lucas also didn't help his case.

The documentary you are referring to is "I am your father". Yeah, it was pretty cool to see the scene redone. On the same topic, there is also "Elstree 1976" which covers a few other actors from the original film.
 
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Rip! His physical presence was quite important for Vader to become this larger than life villain. Not just his grand voice played by James Earl Jones, but the man behind mask made Vader such an iconic character! He has now become one with the force.
 
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