| 1 | [[quoteright:214:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bnjg1nduzmzm3nf5bml5banbnxkftztcwmdg4ntczmq_v1_uy317_cr190214317_al.jpg]] |
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| 3 | Peter William Mayhew (19 May 1944 - 30 April 2019) was an English actor best known for originating the role of [[Characters/StarWarsChewbaccaCharacterSheet Chewbacca]] in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise. |
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| 5 | He was 7 feet, 3 inches tall due to being born with Marfan syndrome, which landed him his first film role as the mechanical creature Minaton in ''Film/SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger'' whenever a scene wouldn't work for the creature with Creator/RayHarryhausen's StopMotion. Mayhew was working as an orderly at King's College Hospital in London when he heard about the casting call at Elstree Studios. He was cast as soon as he stood up to greet Creator/GeorgeLucas. Mayhew would go on to play Chewbacca throughout the original trilogy and returned for a cameo in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. By the time of ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', he was only able to appear in scenes that did not require a lot of movement due to health problems. Starting with ''Film/TheLastJedi'', Chewbacca was played by Creator/JoonasSuotamo (although Mayhew was still credited as a consultant). |
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| 7 | Mayhew's other roles included a bit part as a mechanic in the 1978 film ''Terror'' and a sinister figure in the neo-noir ''Film/YesterdayWasALie''. His last non-''Star Wars'' film was 2011's ''Killer Ink'' (in which his voice was dubbed). |
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| 9 | His death from a heart attack in April 2019 was mourned by ''Star Wars'' fans around the world, and he was remembered by his co-star Creator/MarkHamill as "a big man with an even bigger heart". |
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