Star Wars’ Chewbacca Star Peter Mayhew Passes Away

Peter Mayhew, who first played the iconic role of Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise, has passed away. Mayhew’s family revealed on his Twitter account, that Mayhew passed away on April 30th at his home in North Texas. He was seventy-four years old.

Mayhew is of course known most for his role as Chewbacca, but he got his start in acting before then. Cutting a striking figure for his height, Mayhew was discovered by producers from a picture in a newspaper article about men with large feet, and cast him as the minotaur in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. He would then go on to be discovered by George Lucas while working as an radiology orderly at King’s College Hospital in London, cast as the wookie after Lucas’ original choice, David Prowse, chose the role of Darth Vader instead.

Mayhew would go on to play Chewie in five films in the franchise: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith, and The Force Awakens. He also played the role in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special and recorded dialogue the season three finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as several appearances in other media. He would go on to also appear in a couple of non-Chewie roles such as 1978’s Terror, the 1988 BBC educational production Dark Towers and the 2008 neo-noir Yesterday Was a Lie.

Mayhew was unable to play Chewbacca in The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story due to health issues, and was instead listed as a “Chewbacca consultant” on both films. Joonas Suotamo, who shared the role of Chewie with Mayhew in Force Awakens, took up the role for the latter films, as well as the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The family’s statement read, “The relationships that began then grew into the friends and family that he would love for decades to come. As the films released and became more well-known he had his eyes opened to the possibilities of what he could achieve with his role in the Star Wars universe. For more than 30 years traveled all over the world spending time with his fans and friends. Peter developed lifelong friendships with the other cast members and his fans while on the convention circuit touching the lives of millions. As he realized over the years the impact he could have, he became heavily involved with the 501st legion, Wounded Warriors, Make-a-Wish, and other non-profit organizations.”

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends and legion of fans of Mr. Mayhew. He will most certainly be missed.