Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew has died aged 74
Actor Peter Mayhew died Tuesday at his home in Texas at the age of 74. The 8-foot British actor is best known for his role as Chewbacca in the Star Wars films. He last played this role in The Force Awakens.
Mayhew played the part of Chewbacca since the first Star Wars movie in 1977. According to a 2015 ABC News interview with Mayhew, George Lucas came to the actor through the prosthetics and costume makers of the Star Wars film. When Mayhew stood up at his audition, Lucas would have said right away that they had found their Chewbacca actor. His height would make him “perfect” to play the role of the large furry creature, alongside the six-foot-tall Harrison Ford.
Later, he also starred in the two sequels to the Star Wars films. When the film series ended, he played a few other roles, but Chewbacca remained the most important for Mayhew. As the Wookiee, he guest-starred in The Muppet Show and Glee. As the film series continued at the turn of the century, there was no place for Chewie, until Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005.
When the rights to the Star Wars series were sold to Disney in 2012, Mayhew was already in a wheelchair, according to TMZ. After undergoing double knee surgery in 2013, he was able to stand and act again. As a result, he was able to reprise the role of Chewbacca for The Force Awakens in 2015 and played as Chewie in Star Wars: Battlefront from 2015. However, it would be the last time he starred in the Star Wars series, after that he remained as an advisor for his successor Joonas Suotamo involved in the series.
Peter Mayhew died Tuesday of heart problems, according to the American site TMZ. He will be buried privately, but there will be a service in Los Angeles in December for fans to attend. Harrison Ford told the Hollywood Reporter that Mayhew was a “nice and quiet man” and that he loved him.