David Prowse, who was best known for filling out Darth Vader’s tall frame in the original Star Wars trilogy, passed away on Saturday. He was 85 years-old.
Though James Earl Jones voiced the legendary space villain, it was Prowse who provided the 6-foot-7-inch frame that filled out Vader’s army as he went to battle with his son Luke Skywalker. Mark Hamill, who portrayed Skywalker in the movie, paid tribute to Prowse on social media.
“So sad to hear David Prowse has passed,” Hamill wrote on Twitter. “He was a kind man & much more than Darth Vader. Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British Weightlifting Champion & Safety Icon the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as they loved him.”
So sad to hear David Prowse has passed. He was a kind man & much more than Darth Vader. Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British Weightlifting Champion & Safety Icon the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as they loved him. #RIP pic.twitter.com/VbDrGu6iBz
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) November 29, 2020
Prowse’s death was confirmed by his management company Bowington Management, which said that he died after a short illness.
“It’s with great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and million of fans around the world, to announce that our client DAVE PROWSE M.B.E. has passed away at the age of 85,” the company tweeted.
It's with great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and million of fans around the world, to announce that our client DAVE PROWSE M.B.E. has passed away at the age of 85. #DaveProwse @starwars #DarthVader #GreenCrossCodeMan #iconic #actor #bodybuilder #MBE pic.twitter.com/dL2RmdIqg8
— Bowington Management (@BowingtonM) November 29, 2020
“May the force be with him, always!” his agent Thomas Bowington told BBC. “Though famous for playing many monsters – for myself, and all who knew Dave and worked with him, he was a hero in our lives.”
Fox News reported that Prowse’s lines were dubbed over in Star Wars because of his Bristol, England accent. Aside from acting, Prowse was also a professional weightlifter who was good friends with his fellow competitors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.
Prowse was asked to audition for both the characters of Darth Vader and Chewbacca after Star Wars director George Lucas saw him in the movie A Clockwork Orange. Prowse later said that he chose to play Vader over Chewbacca because “you always remember the bad guys.”
In the United Kingdom, Prowse was also famous for playing the Green Cross Code Man, a character created in the 1970s to teach children about road safety. Despite the enduring success of Star Wars, Prowse said that playing the Green Cross Code Man was still the “best job I ever had.”
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