Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca in 'Star Wars,' dies at 74

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By Alex Johnson

Peter Mayhew, who roared inarticulately yet somehow understandably as Chewbacca for generations of “Star Wars” fans, has died at age 74, his family announced Thursday.

Mayhew died Tuesday at his home in north Texas, his family said. A cause of death was not reported.

Mayhew towered — literally — as Chewbacca, a 200-year-old Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk who co-piloted Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon, which once made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. Various references listed his height as 7 feet, 2 inches to 7 feet, 4 inches.

Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca in ‘Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’ in 1980.Lucasfilm / Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

Mayhew, a native of London, played the role in the original “Star Wars” trilogy in 1977, 1980 and 1983 and reprised the character in “Revenge of the Sith,” in 2005, and “The Force Awakens,” in 2015. He was consultant for the most recent installment, “The Last Jedi,” guiding his successor, Joonas Suotamo, a Finnish basketball player.

“He put his heart and soul into the role of Chewbacca and it showed in every frame of the films 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,” his family said in a statement.

News of Mayhew’s death immediately brought forth wells of grief. Suotomo called Mayhew “a dear friend and mentor.”

“Peter’s warm welcome when I came aboard as his double in ‘The Force Awakens’ meant so much to me,” he said. “Studying the character he helped create was always a daunting task, but one that was made easier by his tutelage and kindness as we sought to bring Chewbacca to life for a new generation.

“He was an absolutely one-of-kind gentleman and a legend of unrivaled class and I will miss him.”

Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo, Chewbacca’s partner in adventure and misadventure, called Mayhew “a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character.”

“We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him,” Ford said in a statement to E News. “He invested his soul in the character and brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience.”

In an emotional tweet, Mark Hamill, who plays the protagonist of the series, Luke Skywalker, called Mayhew “a big man with an even bigger heart who never failed to make me smile.”

source: nbcnews.com