Very sad, whatever the cause
Star Wars enthusiasts - heads up
Peter Mayhew was working as a hospital attendant at the King’s College Hospital in London when film producer Charles H. Schneer saw his photo, literally standing above the crowd around him at 7’3”. Schneer cast him in “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger” (1977).
A year later, he was offered another role. Mayhew was given the option of either playing Darth Vader or Chewbacca in “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope” (1977), as did David Prowse. Mayhew chose Chewbacca because he wanted to play a hero, while Prowse chose Darth Vader because he wanted to play a villain.
Mayhew kept his job as an orderly in the hospital through the first three “Star Wars” movies, but fell in love with the character. As “Star Wars” grew in fame, and he started doing more festivals and public appearances, he realized that he could actually make a living just off the personal appearances.
Mayhew fell sick during the filming of “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), which prompted director Irvin Kershner to bring in another extremely tall actor to fill in for him as Chewbacca. All the footage with the double was scrapped and reshot after Mayhew recovered because Irvin Kershner found that the double’s body movements did not match Mayhew’s.
“This has been the best thing that ever happened to me... I’ve been able to travel all over the world and get paid for it, I never had to pay for a thing, I can go out in public without being recognized, if I want to be recognized in public it will happen, ‘Star Wars’ was great to me, I’m set for life.” (IMDb)
Happy Birthday, Peter Mayhew!