Actor Peter Mayhew, Who Portrayed Chewbacca the Wookiee in the "Star Wars" Films, Has Died (variety.com) 159
"Star Wars" actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original trilogy, died on Tuesday, his family said today. He was 74. He died at his North Texas home surrounded by his family. From a report: He was discovered by producer Charles H. Schneer while working as a hospital attendant in London, and cast in Ray Harryhausen's "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger." The next year, he was cast as Chewbacca, the 200-year-old Wookiee. Mayhew went on to appear in "The Empire Strikes Back," "Return of the Jedi," "Revenge of the Sith," "The Force Awakens" and "The Star Wars Holiday Special." He was active on the "Star Wars" convention circuit and wrote two books, "Growing Up Giant" and "My Favorite Giant." His height was not due to gigantism, but he measured 7 feet 3 inches at his highest. George Lucas originally had his eye on bodybuilder David Prowse, but Prowse decided to play Darth Vader instead and Lucas went with the even taller Mayhew.
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I think Mayhew would have laughed at that joke, actually...
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Or simply because shitting on nerds is fun both in real life and the internet. There's nothing you can do in both cases and your fits of impotent rage make us laugh.
You're the homophobe who gets caught balls deep in some local rentboy aren't you.
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Bring it, bitch... I'm one of the few nerds who exists in a football-player-sized body and love to fight.
Rrwwwgg? (Score:5, Insightful)
Gggwarrrhhwwww, WAGRRRRwwgAHHHHWwwRRgGAWWwwWWrr!!!!! *sob* *sob*
Re:Rrwwwgg? (Score:5, Interesting)
Gggwarrrhhwwww, WAGRRRRwwgAHHHHWwwRRgGAWWwwWWrr!!!!! *sob* *sob*
Just a little side note. I know my Shyriiwook is completely off since I weren't using all capital letter (I know! How dare me!). But stupid Slashdot moderation system can't make a difference between
Shyriiwook and a 11y old "caps-lock" argument.
Sorry about this innacuracy.
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It's OK dude, you did great. Slashdot's language support has always been lacking. Klingon is bad enough, but what it Slashcode does to Elvish is a crime.
Re: Rrwwwgg? (Score:5, Funny)
Translation:
aarrragghuuhw uughguughhhghghghhhgh huuguughghg wrrhw hnnnhrrhhh uughguughhhghghghhhgh aarrragghuuhw wrrhwrwwhw
So basically it's Welsh, then.
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Too many vowels to be Welsh
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Unless you snort some cocaine, then it sounds like an Indian accent.
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There is a place where the damned have to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special
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You shouldn't even joke about something like that.
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I wish I didn't have to endure Ep8. I fully expect "doing the Mary Poppins" will replace the phrase "jumping the shark" as the saying for when a franchise has overstayed its welcome.
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Try to celebrate Life Day and I think I'll have to hurt you.
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I'm happy the 4th of May fell on a weekend this year. Now I won't have to hear my stupid coworkers bleating that stupid crap all day.
Laugh it up, Fuzzball.... (Score:2)
He's walking the starry road now..
Farewell, Chewie, you big furry oaf.. *loads ANH into the bluray player*
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And now you're a saggy old man.
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And now you're a saggy old man.
No, I'm still tall and gangly, thanks to Geritol and Metamucil.
Maybe they'll bury him on Endor (Score:1)
All this is real, right?
May The Force be with him. (Score:3)
May The Force be with him.
A gentle giant (Score:5, Insightful)
He was one of those Star Wars actors who actually embraced being known for Star Wars. I have seen him many times at conventions. He was always humble and generous. I have even seen him socialise with fans after hours. His wife is also well-known among us fans for collecting every Chewbacca memorabilia she could find.
He had problems with his legs and spine, and was seen at conventions walking with his signature lightsaber cane or being wheeled around in a wheelchair.
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Yes, really nice (Score:2)
I saw him in parades a few times and met him just once in person, I agree he was really nice and really embraced the role the way Anthony Daniels has...
It seemed like he had not been in great shape for some time now though, so he's probably happier wherever he is.
The movie Solo gets a lot of flak but the actor who played Chewbacca in that did an excellent job of trying to learn what being Chewbacca really meant from Mayhew, and was much better for it. If you think abut it Peter was pretty much the person w
Re: Star Wars IV was important for many children. (Score:2)
Kenny Baker (R2-D2) also died in 2016.
At least we know he got into heaven... (Score:5, Funny)
God will have told Saint Peter to let the wookiee in.
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God will have told Saint Peter to let the wookiee in.
No need, when he's in front of St. Peter just use the Chewbacca defense. In fact, should my atheist beliefs be wrong and I stand in front of the pearly gates that's my legal strategy too.
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Should that happen after I die, I'll probably just ask god why he wants to spend eternity with gullible people.
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And nothing of value was lost. Star Wars sci-fi for low intelligence morons.
Star Wars isn't really sci-fi; in the words of George Lucas, it's a "space opera".
Met him when I was about six months old. (Score:2)
Star Wars was the #1 movie in the theater when I was born, and back in the 70's things tended to circulate in the theaters longer if they were a hit, since there wasn't a BluRay market to think of. Besides, the was Star Wars, it's theatrical run far out-extended Avatars. It was a P.R. event and he was in costume. My mother likes to talk about it because apparently at six months old a life-sized Chewbaca was enough to freak me out and my mother says I nearly climbed over her trying to get away.
My mother a
"Chewbacca the Wookiee ... " (Score:2)
Actor Peter Mayhew, Who Portrayed Chewbacca the Wookiee ...
Thank god they clarified that, so I wouldn't think it was that other Chewbacca who died.
Re:Don't give a fuck (Score:4, Insightful)
When mentally ill people are ranting, it's best to just not engage.
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Oddly enough I'm the same age. It's usually sad when someone dies, and at that age I've seen many people die. But the reality is- he had his fun, he made some money, he wallowed in his celebrity, and moved on. Few people have that opportunity. Let's reserve most of our sadness for people who were less fortunate. Maybe people who actually did something to make our world a bit more tolerable. Start with your local school teachers, firefighters, nurses, research scientists. There are even a few politicians who
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But he was the people's large person in a monkey suit! The king of gwaaaAAAGHs.
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Let's reserve most of our sadness...
Yeah because who'd want to get rid of all of their sadness?
Re:So what? (Score:5, Interesting)
I paid $15 for mine at a smaller convention back in 2005, when Star Wars was hyped much higher than today.
Sometimes convention prices are set high as a way to manage the lines. The lines to the celebs at some of the large official conventions in the mid-naughties had problems. Some people got to stand in line more than doing anything else, and that is no way to spend a convention.
Then the organisers increased the prices and introduced various time-window system for line control.
Personally, I think you can tell when it is Mayhew and not his younger replacement in the suit. Mayhew has got a special walk and other mannerisms that are his signature.
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Lol, Lucas could have done it without actors.
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Could have?
That is totally wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Literally could have been anyone in that suit.
You obviously do not know that acting under prosthetics or in a full costume is 10x HARDER than plain acting with basically your own face.
Mayhew managed to convey emotion through not just gargling noises, but also posy position and movement. That is the mark of an excellent actor, you could understand what he was thinking and feeling even though none of us knew wookie at the time.
If you looked at the extras for Solo, you'll see the actor there playing a younger Chewie spent a long time studying the mannerisms that Mayhew adopted to understand how to look like a wookie and not a tall guy in a fur suit.
Hang your head in shame for criticizing a literal and figurative giant among actors.
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Besides, i think he wasn't actually gargling on stage. I saw an extra where he is talking normally on set and i suppose the wookie noises were added later. Like James Earl Jones's voice over Prowse's
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And the same goes for CGI with motion tracking, there is a reason Andy Serkis is so popular as an actor in this particular field.
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If you looked at the extras for Solo, you'll see the actor there playing a younger Chewie spent a long time studying the mannerisms that Mayhew adopted to understand how to look like a wookie and not a tall guy in a fur suit.
I don't think that alone says much, there's probably many ways Mayhew could have played being a wookie as he defined the character. But there is really only one way younger Chewie can play the same character, it's exceptionally hard trying to convincingly impersonate somebody else..
Re: That is totally wrong (Score:3)
You're right on the positional acting, but not on the sounds. Those were added post-production, the creation of Ben Burtt. The two combined created a very relatable character from very unrelatable circumstances.
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not on the sounds. Those were added post-productio
Great point, I had forgotten that was done in post. Thanks for reminding me!
The sounds were so spot on with the suit face movements it's easy to forget the wizardry involved.
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Fuzzball. You had one job.