Today would have been Peter Mayhew’s 77th birthday. We lost Peter two years ago, mere days after the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago. I was fortunate enough to be there and to snap a picture of him. My daughter was with me and she alleges that he turned and smiled at her. We miss you Peter. In honor of his birthday I ask, how much do you know about Peter Mayhew?
Peter was born in London, England. His towering height was actually a genetic condition called Marfan syndrome. People with this condition are typically tall and thin with long appendages. There are often pulmonary, visual and skeletal complications with Marfan syndrome but the cardiovascular issues are the more serious complications. Peter passed away after suffering a heart attack in 2019; it wouldn’t surprise me if it was a complication of Marfan.
Once Chewbacca, Always Chewbacca
Peter was working as an orderly for King’s College Hospital when he was offered a role in Star Wars. Just like his co-star, David Prowse, he was given the choice between Darth Vader or Chewbacca. He chose Chewbacca because he wanted to play the hero; just as David Prowse chose Darth Vader because he wanted to play the villain. How fortuitous for the both of them.
Peter has 26 credits on IMDB and for more than half of them he is Chewbacca. His Twitter tag is @TheWookieRoars (which is now the Peter Mayhew Foundation and maintained by his family). To say Peter loved being Chewbacca is an understatement. In fact, under Personal Details on IMDB, it lists “Chewbacca” as his Alternate Name.
His other credits, though few, include a recurring role in Dark Towers (1981) and some bit roles in shows or movies I’ve never heard of. In the movie Killer Ink from 2016, his character is Uncle Clyde and that would be his last credited character role.
He trained Joonas Suotamo to carry on the mantle of Chewbacca and it’s an amazing job. I hope Disney has some plans to bring Chewie back to the screen once again, big screen or the small screen. The Rise of Skywalker is dedicated to Peter’s memory.
Once again, RIP Peter Mayhew and thank you.
/MTFBWY
Breathe. Just breathe. Now reach out.
I know I’m probably taking a rather large risk here talking about Gina Carano. She is in some hot water recently and there are many who are fairly upset with her right now. I will not be offended if you chose not to read this post, however I assure you that I will not take a side. More on that later.
How much do you know about John Hollis? Many of you are probably asking “WHO??!” because he is probably pretty obscure but a cool character from Empire Strikes Back. He is Lando’s cybernetically enhanced aide, Lobot. His birthday was back in November and several Star Wars Facebook groups shined a light on him in celebration of his life. He passed away back in 2005 but Lobot is a cool character so I will happily talk a little bit about John Hollis.
David Prowse was born in Bristol, England in 1935 and he was raised by a single mother. He found a passion for bodybuilding and weight training and he eventually won the British heavyweight weightlifting title. He became a “superhero” in the UK as the 
Since David was a real life “superhero” he is obviously qualified to train a superhero. His passion for fitness lead to a career in training actors for films, including 
Until Rey came along women were really under represented in Star Wars. Be that as it may, the female characters it does have are strong, fierce and amazing characters. I could have picked one of those women like Leia, Amidala or Jyn Erso but I like focusing on the underdogs. The actors in much smaller roles that deserve some attention. Which is why we are going to look at an underrated female character. How much do you know about Keira Knightley?
Keira Knightley played Sabé, the handmaiden that was also the Queen’s decoy. I remember feeling confused when I first saw the movie; I went in knowing that Natalie Portman was playing the queen. Then you see Padme for the first time and you know that is Natalie Portman so either she’s playing two characters or the rumors lied and she’s the handmaiden. Coincidentally that is exactly what George Lucas was hoping to accomplish.
My motivation behind these posts is to shine a light on some of the unsung, underrated and/or under appreciated actors in the Star Wars universe. I feel like, somewhere in the mire of sequel trilogy discontent, so-called fans were whining about voice dubbing. Actually it might be The Mandalorian. While Pedro Pascal is credited as playing the Mandalorian, he isn’t always the man in the costume. It’s really quite hilarious to be critical of voice dubbing in Star Wars. If you’ve seen a picture of James Earl Jones then you know damn well that man did not squeeze his husky ass into that Darth Vader costume. Then it was during my previous post about Denis Lawson that I thought more about voice dubbing. Perhaps, instead of focusing on one individual for this topic, we take a look at a couple of these voice talents.
I figure I might as well start with the one I’ve already mentioned in 
Pretty much everyone knows that Darth Maul was portrayed by martial artist and Wushu master Ray Park. However, if you’ve ever heard Ray Park speak you know that Maul did not have that distinctive cockney accent. That’s because the voice of Darth Maul was provided by