Another original member of the Star Wars has died this past week and fans are in mourning.

Actor, bodybuilder and public safety advocate David Charles Prowse died in the hospital of an illness in London England according to reports. Born in Bristol, Prowse developed an interest in bodybuilding. After winning several weightlifting championships, he went on to train actor Christopher Reeves for the role of Superman. He would also go on to train actor Cary Elwes for the role of Wesley in The Princess Bride.

Prowse would go on to have roles in films like A Clockwork Orange as well as television series like Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People and Space: 1999.

Prowse’s biggest claim to fame was being cast as Darth Vader in Star Wars. Though actor James Earl Jones provided the voice of the character, Prowse’s physical presence and imposing stature gave menace to the villain. Star Wars creator George Lucas said of Prowse’s performance;

“He made Vader leap off the page and on to the big screen, with an imposing stature and movement performance to match the intensity and undercurrent of Vader’s presence. David was up for anything and contributed to the success of what would become a memorable, tragic figure. May he rest in peace.” he said.

Star Wars star Mark Hamill paid tribute to the actor on social media releasing a statement on Twitter:

Rosario Dawson, who recently made her first appearance in the Star Wars universe as Ahsoka Tano on the recent episode of The Mandalorian tweeted her condolences as well.

David Prowse brought to life one of the most iconic characters in cinema and he will be truly missed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.