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David Prowse, the bodybuilder who at 6'6" was chosen to play Darth Vader in costume for the first three Star Wars films, has passed away. Born in Bristol, he started bodybuilding in his teens and was soon in demand for small roles in film and television, usually as a heavy. Some of his roles included his big screen debut in Casino Royale (as Frankenstein's Monster), The Horror of Frankenstein (as... you guessed it) and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (same again), but when he wasn't playing that, he was in Up Pompeii, Carry On Henry, A Clockwork Orange for Stanley Kubrick, Vampire Circus, Callan, Jabberwocky and The People That Time Forgot, whereupon Star Wars happened.
As well as many television appearances (Doctor Who, Space: 1999, The Tomorrow People) he was the face of road safety for British children as The Green Cross Code Man. Sadly, thanks to a blunder he fell out with Lucasfilm, and was rather estranged from the Star Wars franchise, but he was a regular at conventions and loved meeting his fans, generous to a fault. |
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