David Prowse

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David Prowse (2013)

David Prowse , MBE (born July 1, 1935 in Bristol , England - † November 28, 2020 in London ) was a British actor and fitness trainer .

In the original Star Wars trilogy, Prowse embodied the character of Darth Vader , although his text was dubbed by the narrator James Earl Jones . In the few scenes in which Darth Vader can be seen without a mask, he was replaced by the actor Sebastian Shaw .

Life

Youth, earlier years

David Prowse grew up in the suburbs of Bristol and attended the Bristol Grammar School . Even in his youth, the extraordinarily tall Prowse showed an interest in bodybuilding . First he worked as a bouncer in a dance club and as a lifeguard in a bathing establishment.

After initial success at the British Weightlifting Championships in 1961 and 1962, Prowse left his hometown Bristol in 1963 and went to London , where he began to work for a weight training company. In 1962 and the following two years, he won the British weightlifting championships. In 1962 he also competed for the United Kingdom at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1962 in Perth, Australia .

Prowse married in 1963 and had three children.

Actor of Darth Vader

Prowse was best known for his visual representation of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films. His height of almost 200 cm was one of the factors that qualified him for this role. The voice of the character, however, came from the actor James Earl Jones , who dubbed the texts originally spoken by Prowse. According to director George Lucas , the reason why they did without Prowse's original voice was that they wanted a "darker voice - which had a deeper and more resonant effect" for the role of Vader. Prowse's voice, on the other hand, seemed unsuitable for such a role because of its intimidating, West English accent. By his own admission, Prowse didn't even know his role was Luke Skywalker's biological father until he saw The Empire Strikes Back in the cinema. Also in the third film in the saga, Prowse only played the masked Vader. In the final scene, in which the dark lord's mask was removed, the actor Sebastian Shaw's face is used instead .

In the fencing scenes against Mark Hamill , Prowse did not appear personally either, as he had no experience in sword fighting. There he was instead doubled by professional fencer Bob Anderson .

Even after completing the original trilogy, Prowse remained an active contributor to the ongoing Star Wars franchise . In 2007, like many of the other former actors, he was a guest at the Star Wars Celebration Europe in the Exhibition Center London . He also appeared in two British Star Wars fan films in cameo roles in support of the children's rights organization Exhibition Center London. In 2008 he appeared on the sixth episode of the television show Bring back ... under the title Bring back ... Star Wars . Here Prowse reported, among other things, from an earlier dispute with George Lucas, as, according to the director of the press, he had made illicit hints about the future death of Darth Vader. This is said to have been the reason why, contrary to originally planned, his face was not shown in the third film in the series and was replaced by the actor Shaw.

The biopic I Am Your Father illuminates his life and deals in particular with the controversies surrounding Darth Vader's film voice, face in The Return of the Jedi and the differences with LucasArts.

Other roles

Within the UK, Prowse is also known for his portrayal of the Green Cross Code Man character , which appeared in 1975 advertisements promoting the safety of British road conditions.

Already in 1971 Prowse played the bodyguard Julian in a supporting role in the film Uhrwerk Orange . It was through this film that George Lucas became aware of him and decided to engage him for his planned Star Wars project. In the following years, Prowse played a few supporting roles in various productions. He played a muscle man in the horror film Circus of the Vampires , a Minotaur in the ninth season of Doctor Who and had an appearance in an episode of Lunar Base Alpha 1 in 1976 . In 1977 he also had an appearance as the Black Knight parallel to his role in Star Wars in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film Jabberwocky .

In 1978, Prowse played the Duke's Fighter in a television adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It . In 1981, Prowse starred in a small role as a bodyguard in a BBC adaptation of the novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . Prowse played the role of Frankenstein's monster several times: 1967 in the James Bond parody Casino Royale , 1970 in Frankenstein's horror and 1974 in Frankenstein's infernal monster .

Other activities

David Prowse at Mountain-Con 2007

In 1978 Prowse trained Christopher Reeve for his part in Superman from 1978. He later also trained actor Cary Elwes for his role in the 1987 film The Prince's Bride .

On the background of his own illness, Prowse worked with various British arthritis prevention organizations. He was also Vice President of the Physically Handicapped and Able-bodied Association .

Prowse was a well-known supporter of the Bristol Rugby Club . For the European elections in 2009 he declared himself an active supporter of the UK Independence Party .

Health problems

Prowse suffered from arthritis for most of his life . The first symptoms had already appeared at the age of thirteen. When he began professional weight training, the illness seemed to be over. In 1990, however, it broke out again. As a result, both of his hip joints were replaced in several operations . In 2001 the disease paralyzed his right arm and later his left arm as well. His height also decreased significantly due to the disease.

In 2009 it became known that Prowse had also had prostate cancer and was undergoing radiation therapy in a London hospital. Most recently he suffered from dementia . Prowse died in late November 2020.

Trivia

In 1999 there was a rumor that thieves broke into Prowse's house and stole the original lightsaber that the actor used while filming the old Star Wars films. However, this was refuted in a 2007 interview by Prowse, who stated that the stolen object was just a toy. He also stated that he was never given any original Star Wars movie paraphernalia .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : David Prowse  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alex Marshall: Dave Prowse, Man Behind Darth Vader's Mask, Is Dead at 85. In: The New York Times . November 29, 2020, accessed November 30, 2020 .
  2. ^ "Straight from the forces' mouth". The Autobiography of Dave Prowse MBE , pp. 68, 114, 147 and 183.
  3. ↑ Dave Prowse: Darth Vader actor dies aged 85. In: BBC News . November 29, 2020, accessed on November 29, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Prowse, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor and fitness trainer
DATE OF BIRTH July 1, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Bristol , England
DATE OF DEATH November 28, 2020
Place of death London