Peter Mayhew died
At the age of 75, actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in Star Wars, has died. The actor passed away on April 30, surrounded by his family in North Texas. The relatives do not name the cause of death.Peter Mayhew was born on May 19, 1944 in London. His acting debut was "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" 1977. The producers of the film found out about Mayhew quite by accident after reading an article in the newspaper about people with big legs (the actor was 2.21 m tall). So Peter got the role of the Minotaur. After that, George Lucas asked Mayhew to play Chewbacca. According to the director, all one had to do for the role was to stand. Lucas was looking for a tall actor, and bodybuilder David Prowse was 1.98m tall among the main contenders, but he chose the role of Darth Vader. Then Lucas gave the role of Chewbacca Mayhew, who at that time was working as an orderly in the radiology department of a London hospital. Peter played Chewbacca in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith and The Force Awakens. In the latter, Mayhew co-starred with a stunt double, who then took on the full role in The Last Jedi.  Peter rarely played other roles in films, but often appeared in the image of Chewbacca outside the MCU: he participated in commercials and visited sick children in the hospital. Mayhew also loved to attend conventions on the Star Wars universe. The actor created the Peter Mayhew Charitable Foundation to raise funds to fight pediatric oncology. The Topic of Article: Peter Mayhew died. |
