WE'LL MISS CHEW
How 7ft 3ins Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew went from Croydon hospital porter to Star Wars’ legend
SWEATING profusely in a furry outfit, Peter Mayhew never imagined his movie role would make him famous across the world.
The Londoner — who in 1976 had bagged a part in Star Wars — expected to return to his day job as the porter in a Croydon hospital once filming was over.
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Like most of the cast, 7ft 3in Mayhew assumed the strange sci-fi movie would be a flop.
Even if it was a hit, he told himself, no one would recognise him because he spent the whole film dressed as an alien creature known as Chewbacca.
But Mayhew could not have been more wrong.
Today on Star Wars Day: May The 4th Be With You — when fans usually celebrate their love of the movies, they will instead mourn the death of one of its most iconic stars.
Mayhew’s family revealed on Thursday that he had passed away aged 74 at his home in Texas.
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The news caused sadness around the world, with the gentle giant holding a special place in the hearts of Star Wars devotees.
Explaining his appeal, Mayhew once said: “There’s a lot of me in Chewie and a lot of Chewie in me.
“If I don’t do anything else, I will always be remembered as Chewie the hairy Wookiee.
“Wherever Star Wars fans gather, there’s R2, 3PO and Chewie that always get talked about. He’s more cuddly than R2, and he’s got more sense than 3PO.”
Last night Harrison Ford, whose character Han Solo was best pals with Chewie, said: “Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character.
Super tall ‘fur-ball’ would make a great co-pilot
“These aspects of his own personality, plus his wit and grace, he brought to Chewbacca. We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him.
“He knew how important the fans of the franchise were to its continued success and he was devoted to them.”
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That was more true of Mayhew than any other member of the cast.
Four years ago he invited terminally ill superfan Daniel Fleetwood to his home, but when he died before being able to visit, Mayhew insisted Daniel’s widow Ashley should still come.
He showed Ashley around his Chewie museum, made up of memorabilia from his 40-year association with Star Wars.
Over the years Mayhew had met thousands of devotees at conventions and last night stories of his kindness were posted on his Facebook page.
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Six things Chew need to know
- The Wookiee was originally created as a female
- 1978’s infamous Star Wars Holiday Special on TV revealed Chewbacca has a wife, Mallatobuck and a son, Lumpawaroo
- His name comes from sobaka, the Russian word for dog
- Hair on his torso was knitted by Kay Freeborn, wife of make-up artist Stuart Freeborn
- Chewbacca’s weapon of choice is called a bowcaster, a crossbow-shaped blaster
- Director George Lucas had the idea for an animal sidekick after his dog Indiana sat next to him when he was driving
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His family said in a statement: “The Star Wars family meant so much more to him than a role in a film.
“For more than 30 years Peter travelled all over the world spending time with his fans and friends.”
Landing the role as Chewbacca — once described as a “giant in a monkey suit” by Ford — was to change Mayhew’s life forever, but it happened by chance.
Growing up in Barnes, South London, he had endured a massive growth spurt at secondary school that could have been dangerous to his health. It was discovered that he had Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder which affects the body’s connective tissue.
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Aged 15 he underwent treatment to stop him becoming any taller and he stopped growing at 7ft 3in.
The star said: “There was an overactive pituitary gland. I had treatment. Without it I’d have been eight foot. Life would have been terrible.”
Instead, his towering height was to set into motion a chain of events which would launch him into Hollywood.
In 1976, Mayhew appeared in a local newspaper report about people with big feet. It caught the attention of casting directors of fantasy movie Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger, who hired Mayhew as a minotaur. One of the make-up team was also working on Star Wars: A New Hope at Elstree Studios, Herts, and suggested Mayhew should screen test for the Wookiee role.
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The hairy alien had been dreamt up by film director and creator George Lucas, who was inspired by his pet Alaskan dog Indiana.
Lucas thought a super-tall “fur-ball” would make a great spaceship co-pilot for hero Solo. It didn’t matter that Mayhew had no acting experience, because Lucas told him that all he needed to do to win the role was stand up.
Mayhew didn’t even have to do the distinctive Wookiee roar, as that was created before he was even cast by sound designer Ben Burtt, who mixed the cries of a black bear with a walrus, lion and badger to come up with the now beloved voice.
But Mayhew still had plenty to do underneath the suit, with his expressive arm movements and gentle head tilts lending Chewbacca his true character.
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His size also prompted one of the film’s most iconic lines when Princess Leia, played by the late Carrie Fisher, says: “Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?”
Mayhew’s family said: “Peter put his heart and soul into the role and it showed in every frame, from his knock kneed running, firing his bowcaster from the hip, his bright blue eyes, down to each subtle movement of his head and mouth.”
Doubting the film would come to much, Mayhew did not give up the day job. The actor was paid only a flat fee and put in shifts at the hospital between shoots. Then Star Wars became the biggest sci-fi hit ever when it was released in 1977 and his talents were needed for two sequels — The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. For those movies Mayhew secured a deal which gave him a slice of the box office, setting him up for life.
After Star Wars, there were not many roles that called for an actor of his size.
‘Closest any human being could be to a Wookiee’
But fans never forgot Chewie and he discovered he could make a good living from fan conventions, where he would sign autographs and have his picture taken for a fee.
In the late 1990s the then bachelor met his American wife Angie at one of those events, where she was running a toy stall. They wed in 1999.
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He said in 2003: “We got talking. One thing led to the other and that was it. It’s worked out well. My wife brought three daughters to the relationship and now we all live happily here in Texas.”
Having been overlooked for the critically panned prequels — The Phantom Menace in 1999 and Attack Of The Clones in 2002 — Chewbacca returned in 2005’s Revenge Of The Sith. When a new trilogy was announced a decade later it looked unlikely that he would be fit enough to pull on the outfit once more.
Mayhew’s substantial frame had wrecked his knees and he spent much of his time in a wheelchair.
But he was determined not to miss out on a chance to be reunited with Ford and Co in 2015’s The Force Awakens. Following a series of operations and rehabilitation, he was able to walk again using a cane — shaped like a lightsaber, of course.
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He said: “You’re talking to a man with the most expensive knees in the world. They’re bigger than average. I don’t get off-the-shelf knees.’’
But his comeback was short-lived and he handed his hairy outfit to Finnish actor Joonas Suotamo — a mere 6ft 11in tall — for 2017’s The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker, which will be in cinemas this Christmas.
Those who spent time with him on set speak of his generous and uncomplaining nature.
While Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO and Kenny Baker, who was R2-D2, fell out, Mayhew remained friends with everyone.
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Last night Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, said: “He was the gentlest of giants.
“A big man with an even bigger heart who never failed to make me smile and a loyal friend who I loved dearly. I’m grateful for the memories we shared and I’m a better man for just having known him. “
Director Lucas commented: “He was the closest any human being could be to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature — and I learned to always let him win.”
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