David Prowse, who starred as “Darth Vader” in the Star Wars movies, passed away at the age of 85 this weekend. The New York Post reported on Sunday that Mr. Prowse had died, and his management company, Bowington Management, was the first to confirm the news.
As it was just noted, David was perhaps most famous for his role in Star Wars, although, his character’s voice was actually done by James Earl Jones. In other words, Prowse was only the physical portrayal of Darth Vader, whereas James provided the voice.
Some of the other roles he was featured in included Frankenstein’s monster as well as the bodyguard, Julian, in Stanley Kubrick’s classic, A Clockwork Orange. His agent wrote in a statement that the force would “Always be with him.”
Prowse previously spoke on the opportunities he was given by George Lucas, the creator of the series, in the 1970s. The actor explained how George gave him the option to either star as Chewbacca or Darth Vader, so he wound up choosing the latter.
Reportedly, Lucas told him there were two characters, Chewbacca, who was more like a giant teddy bear, and there was the main villain, Darth Vader, so Prowse obviously chose Darth Vader instead. According to othe reports, however, Prowse and Lucas’ relationship soured just a few years later.
Reports claim that Mr. Lucas actually banned David from appearing in any other of his movies because he accused him of leaking what happened to Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. The allegation against David later turned out to be false.
As for the legend of Darth Vader, Prowse said in an interview three years ago that it was a great honor for him to star as the infamous villain. For many, Darth Vader is easily one of the greatest villains of all time, alongside The Joker from the Batman series.
It’s not clear how Prowse died at the moment, or if it was linked in any way to the coronavirus pandemic. Since the news of his death hit the press, many of his former co-stars including Mark Hamill have paid tribute to him.