Peter Mayhew

Peter William Mayhew<ref name="theguardian.com">Template:Cite news</ref> (19 May 1944 – 30 April 2019) was a British-American actor. He was best known for portraying Chewbacca in the Star Wars film series. He played the character in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 original to 2015's The Force Awakens before his retirement from the role. He also voiced the character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and portrayed him in some non-canon television shows including The Muppet Show.

Early life

Peter Mayhew was born on 19 May 1944, in Barnes, Surrey. At the age of 8, he was diagnosed with gigantism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mayhew also had a genetic tissue disorder called Marfan syndrome.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His peak height was Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Early work

Mayhew gained his first acting job when the producers of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) discovered him from a photograph in a newspaper article about men with large feet, and cast him in the role of the Minoton.<ref name="SWfaq">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Star Wars

1977-1983: Star Wars original trilogy

Mayhew played Chewbacca in five Star Wars films of the Skywalker saga: the original trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>

When casting the original Star Wars (1977), director George Lucas needed a tall actor who could fit the role of the hairy alien Chewbacca. He originally had in mind Template:Convert bodybuilder David Prowse, but Prowse chose to play Darth Vader. This led Lucas to cast Mayhew, who was working as a hospital orderly in the emergency department at Mayday University Hospital in Surrey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He became aware of a casting call for Star Wars which was filming at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.<ref name="ABCNR">Template:Cite news</ref> The Template:Convert tall actor was immediately cast as Chewbacca after he stood up to greet Lucas.<ref name="ABCNR" /><ref name="Hayward">Template:Cite news</ref> Mayhew continued working as an orderly at the same hospital in between filming the original Star Wars trilogy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The success and cultural impact of Star Wars led to further sequels rounding out the original trilogy, two more trilogies and television shows which continued Mayhew's association with his character and the franchise for the next decades.

Mayhew modelled his performance of Chewbacca after researching the behaviour of bears, monkeys and gorillas he saw at London Zoo.<ref name="Timesobit">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Lucas said Mayhew was "the closest any human being could be to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature and I learnt to always let him win".<ref name="Timesobit" /> The character did not have any lines, the sounds he made being derived from sound recordings of animal noises.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:PeterMayhew11.14.08ByLuigiNovi1.jpg

Mayhew at the 2008 Big Apple Con sitting in front of an image of Chewbacca

The release of Star Wars, the first film in the series and fourth chapter of the Skywalker saga, took place in 1977 and received positive reviews. He filmed several scenes for the original trilogy at Elstree Studios.Template:Sfn Mayhew starred in The Empire Strikes Back; the film received positive reviews and was the highest-grossing film of the year. Ever since its release and even after a reassessment, it is considered to be the best film in the Star Wars series. He also appeared in the 1980 television documentary special, SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back. Although 1983's Return of the Jedi marked the end of the original trilogy, some back stories George Lucas created would generate production and filming of the prequel trilogy in the 1990s and eventually contribute to Mayhew's reprisal. The actor shared his memories of his costume and experience on the first three films in the 2004 documentary film, Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. The documentary was included in the first DVD release of the original trilogy.

2003-2011: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Template:Quote box By the time Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones was released to cinemas in May 2002, work had begun on the last film of the prequel trilogy.Template:Sfn On 23 April 2003, it was announced on the Star Wars website that Mayhew would reprise his role in Revenge of the Sith, the last instalment of the prequel trilogy and last film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox.Template:Sfn It was also announced that two of his co-stars from the original trilogy, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker would reprise their roles as C-3PO and R2-D2 respectively.Template:Sfn The events of the film take place 19 years before the first theatrical film Mayhew appeared in. Prior to the announcement, Mayhew received a phone call from Rick McCallum asking if he was available.Template:Sfn Upon his return, Mayhew said, "Not only was it great personally to be able to become that character again, to bring him back after all this time, but it generally seemed to make people happy."Template:Sfn He also described his character as "very comforting."Template:Sfn

Most of the live-action scenes had been completed during the 57-day shoot in 2003, however several scenes including the Battle of Kashyyyk had not been.Template:Sfn In the summer of 2003, Mayhew and seven new Wookiee performers had their costume fittings.Template:Sfn A new Chewbacca costume was made for Mayhew and it included a foam musculature.Template:Sfn The costume also reflected the character being 19 years younger than his counterpart in A New Hope.Template:Sfn There was no ventilation system in the original costume but this time the new costume featured "an arterial cooling system underneath the fur."Template:Sfn Mayhew's scenes were quieter because although Chewbacca was featured alongside Yoda the latter was digitally added later.Template:Sfn Kashyyyk had been previously featured in Star Wars Holiday Special which Mayhew appeared in. Mayhew and the Wookiee actors filmed their scenes for the Battle of Kashyyyk at Sydney in the Spring of 2004.Template:Sfn

Revenge of the Sith was released in cinemas in May 2005 and received positive reviews. He also recorded dialogue for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3 finale episode "Wookiee Hunt".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The animated television series takes place between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

2012-2016: Last Star Wars film and successor

In October 2012, the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm and announced that the sequel trilogy would be made with Episode VII being released in 2015. In April 2014, it was announced that Mayhew would reprise his role in the first instalment of the sequel trilogy and seventh Star Wars film.<ref name="Guardian"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He acted opposite several of his co-stars including Harrison Ford from the original trilogy again and new cast members including Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. The Force Awakens was the first live-action Star Wars film to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film received positive reviews, was the highest grossing film of 2015, grossed $2.07 billion worldwide and became the third-highest grossing film at the time of its release.

While Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he was not in Star Wars: The Last Jedi but was listed in the credits as "Chewbacca Consultant".<ref name="IMDBLastJedi">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Reuters"/> Mayhew retired from playing Chewbacca due to health issues. Joonas Suotamo shared the portrayal of Chewbacca with Mayhew in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and then completely replaced him in subsequent Star Wars films.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1977-2019: Television, commercials and other appearances

Mayhew made a guest appearance in a Star Wars special of the Donny & Marie show.Template:Sfn He and Anthony Daniels were the only actors from Star Wars to appear in the television special.Template:Sfn Mayhew played the role in the 1978 television film Star Wars Holiday Special, set between the events of Star Wars and the yet to be released sequel.Template:Sfn The television special was broadcast only once and received negative reviews but became a cult classic among Star Wars fans when bootleg recordings were uploaded to the internet.Template:Sfn In 1980 made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show, The Stars of Star Wars; the crossover episode also starred Daniels as C-3PO, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 who went on a search for Chewbacca.Template:Sfn They filmed scenes at ATV Studios in January 1980.Template:Sfn

Mayhew played the role in commercials and hospital appearances for sick children, and made numerous appearances as Chewbacca outside the Star Wars films. Mayhew, appearing as Chewbacca, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Film Awards 1997.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He also made other media appearances outside of playing Chewbacca. He appeared on NBC's Identity, where his identity was based on his role as Chewbacca and was a frequent guest in the early days of Slice of SciFi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His final convention appearance was Star Wars Celebration Chicago in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other work

Outside Star Wars, Mayhew appeared in the 1978 horror film Terror, directed by Norman J. Warren.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the English version of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy, he provided the voice for Susha.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> He also appeared in Yesterday Was a Lie.<ref name="Telegraph">Template:Cite news</ref>

Books

Mayhew wrote two books for younger audiences: Growing Up Giant,<ref name="MayhewMayhew2013">Template:Cite book</ref> which explains that being different is a strength instead of a weakness, and the anti-bullying book for children My Favorite Giant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Mayhew moved to Wheathead Lane, Keighley, West Yorkshire, in 1987.<ref name="theguardian.com" /><ref name="Keighley">Template:Cite web</ref> He invested in and worked at a timber yard just over the City of Bradford border in South Craven, North Yorkshire.<ref name="theguardian.com" /><ref name="Timber">Template:Cite web</ref> He became a supporter of Keighley Rugby Union Football Club.<ref name="theguardian.com" /><ref name="Keighley" />

Mayhew married Mary Angelique "Angie" Luker (née Cigainero), a native of Texas, in 1999.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="theguardian.com" /> The two lived in Boyd, Texas, United States, where he had moved to in 2000.<ref name="theguardian.com" /><ref name="Timber" /> Peter was the stepfather to Mary's three children.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was reported that his wife would head his namesake charity, the Peter Mayhew Foundation.

Mayhew became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 2005 at a ceremony in Arlington, Texas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he joked that he did not get a medal at this ceremony either, a reference to the closing scene in Star Wars during which Luke Skywalker and Han Solo get medals, but Chewbacca does not. Mayhew noted in an MTV interview that although Chewbacca does not get a medal in the film, he does have the last line of dialogue, when he roars.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mayhew underwent double knee replacement surgery in 2013,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> having been a full-time wheelchair user for the previous two years and still largely reliant on it at the time of filming The Force Awakens.<ref name="Brez2019">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In July 2018, Mayhew announced via Twitter that he had successfully undergone unspecified spinal surgery to improve his mobility, and was recovering.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="theguardian.com" />

Death and tributes

Mayhew died of a heart attack on 30 April 2019, at his home in Boyd, Texas, at age 74.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was buried in Reno, Parker County, Texas, in Azleland Memorial Park and Mausoleum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Harrison Ford praised Mayhew for his "great dignity and noble character".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Reuters"/> Mark Hamill called Mayhew "the gentlest of giants."<ref name="Reuters">Template:Cite web</ref>

Anthony Daniels detailed his recollections about working with Mayhew on the original trilogy, the Star Wars Holiday Special and non-canon television shows in his 2019 memoirs, I Am C-3PO.Template:Sfn

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1977	Star Wars	Chewbacca		<ref name="Guardian" />Template:Sfn
	Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger	Minoton	Uncredited	<ref name="SWfaq" />
1978	Terror	The Mechanic		<ref name=":0" />
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Chewbacca		<ref name="Guardian" />Template:Sfn
1982	Return of the Ewok		Video	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1983	Return of the Jedi			<ref name="Guardian" />
1987	Star Tours		Short; uncredited	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2004	Comic Book: The Movie	Himself		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy		Documentary film
2005	Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith	Chewbacca		<ref name="Guardian" />
2008	Yesterday Was a Lie	Dead Man		<ref name="Telegraph" />
2009	Fanboys	Himself	Uncredited
2015	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Chewbacca	Shared role with Joonas Suotamo and final film role	<ref name="theguardian.com" />

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1977	Donny & Marie	Chewbacca	Episode # 3.1	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn
1978	Star Wars Holiday Special		TV special	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1979	Hazell	Episode "Hazell and the Big Sleep"		Template:Citation needed
1980	The Muppet Show	Chewbacca	Episode: The Stars of Star Wars	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn
	SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back	Himself	Television documentary drama
1981	Dark Towers	The Tall Knight		<ref name=":0" />
1985	The Kenny Everett Television Show	Various	Episode #3.3	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2004	Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy	Susha (Gettō)	Voice; English dub; TV special	<ref name=":1" />
2011	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Chewbacca	Episode: Wookiee Hunt; Special Thanks	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Glee		Episode: Extraordinary Merry Christmas
2012	Breaking In	Himself	Episode: Episode XIII
2015	Comic Book Men	Himself	Episode: Wookiee Fever

See also

• List of tallest people

References

Print sources

• Template:Cite book
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External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0562679

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• Star Wars bio
• Interview with Peter Mayhew on Slice of SciFi (starts at 36:55 of show)
• Template:Find a Grave