Darth Vader actor David Prowse dead at 85



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David Prowse, the actor and bodybuilder who filled Darth Vader’s big frame in the original “Star Wars” trilogy is dead. He was 85 years old.

Although James Earl Jones provided the voice of the space villain, it was the 6ft 7in frame of Prowse that hid under Vader’s armor as he matched the lightsabers with his son Luke. Skywalker.

The actor’s lines were dubbed due to his accent from Bristol, England, according to BBC News.

Mark Hamill, who played Skywalker, shared a tribute to Prowse in a Twitter post early Sunday.

“So sad to hear that David Prowse has passed away,” Hamill wrote. “He was a kind man and more than Darth Vader. Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 times British weightlifting champion and safety icon the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as they loved him. “

Prowse’s management company, Bowington Management, confirmed that the actor died from a short illness, writing on Twitter: “It is with great regret and heartbreaking sadness for us and millions of fans at around the world, to announce that our client DAVE PROWSE MBE has passed away at the age of 85. “

The actor was also good friends with his competitors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno in his early years as a weightlifter.

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English actor David Prowse, who played the character of Darth Vader in the first "Star wars" trilogy, poses with a fan dressed in Darth Vader costume during a Star Wars convention on April 27, 2013 in Cusset, France.  (Getty Images)

English actor David Prowse, who played the character of Darth Vader in the first “Star Wars” trilogy, poses with a fan dressed in Darth Vader costume during a Star Wars convention on April 27, 2013 in Cusset, France. (Getty Images)

Prowse was invited to audition for the roles of Darth Vader and Chewbacca after “Star Wars” director George Lucas saw him in “A Clockwork Orange”, but he told BBC News in an interview that he had chose Vader because “ you always remember the bad guys. . ”

He also played roles in “The Saint,” “Doctor Who,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and played Frankenstein in three different films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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Prowse was famous across the pond for playing Britain’s Green Cross Code Man, a character created in the 1970s to teach children about road safety. In 2000 he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his service in this role.

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