The Bell Tolls for David Prowse
The bodybuilding actor who brought Darth Vader to life has passed at age 85.
Before he put on Vader’s costume, David Prowse was a heavy weight lifting champion and represented England in the Common Wealth Games in the early 1960s. He got into the sport in his early teens and met Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno while competing in Mr. Universe.
His height – a towering 6’6″ – and his physique helped him break into film. His first movie was 1967’s Casino Royale playing Frankenstein’s monster. He had several roles in Hammer Horror films following that. It’s rumored that he’s the only actor that had to do just 2-3 takes for Stanely Kubrik while filming his scenes in A Clockwork Orange because the director was intimidated by him just due to his physique.
Carrying Malcolm McDowell like a rag doll in A Clockwork Orange.
George Lucas spotted him as the towering bodyguard and thought he’d be a great fit for his sci-fi fantasy epic. Prowse was given a choice to play Chewie or Vader – ultimately choosing Vader because he wasn’t a fan of the furry costume and because bad guys are more memorable. Minus the lightsaber battles (fencing master Bob Anderson took over for those), he was the one inside the costume. He acted the role, as well. Prowse read the character’s lines out during filming to give the other actors and the crew a complete performance to respond to.
Post Star Wars he worked as a trainer – most notably with Christopher Reeves on the Superman movies – and kept acting through the late 1980s. His most valued role isn’t what you’d expect – he worked with a safety initiative that some of you may recognize. He became Green Cross Code Man to help promote road crossing safety in England. He described it as “the best job I’ve ever had, including my Star Wars role, and by far my proudest achievement,” in part because he wanted to help kids.
Though his face may have been covered with prosthetics or masks for a lot of his career, he made one of the biggest bad guys in one of the world’s biggest franchises come to life on screen. As a fan, I’m thankful for that work. I’ll leave it to someone that knew him personally to memorialize him…
So sad to hear David Prowse has passed. He was a kind man & much more than Darth Vader. Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British Weightlifting Champion & Safety Icon the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as they loved him. #RIP pic.twitter.com/VbDrGu6iBz
Advertisement— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) November 29, 2020
