Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca in 'Star Wars,' Dies at 74

tk924

Well-Known Member
369053


Thank you Peter and Carrie for memories that will last forever.

May the force be with you!
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
Seriously, that is the quote that’s been sticking with me since last night. Leia, Chewie, and R2 are in space together again now.

No disrespect to Mayhew may he RIP - but I'm a little surprised at how much attention I've seen given to his passing versus Kenny Baker's death. I mean Carrie Fisher is a whole another thing especially as she had a well known career even outside of Star Wars, but Mayhew and Baker seemed to be similar in terms of casual fan awareness of them. I guess maybe people are more plugged in to these things now? Or do people just like Chewie that much more than R2-D2?
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
No disrespect to Mayhew may he RIP - but I'm a little surprised at how much attention I've seen given to his passing versus Kenny Baker's death. I mean Carrie Fisher is a whole another thing especially as she had a well known career even outside of Star Wars, but Mayhew and Baker seemed to be similar in terms of casual fan awareness of them. I guess maybe people are more plugged in to these things now? Or do people just like Chewie that much more than R2-D2?
Maybe it's how much of Mayhew comes through in the performance of Chewbacca. His walk, eyes, mannerisms... where as Baker you would never know its him. I also think because R2 is part puppet, RC and cgi people forget that he was in there.
 

khlaylav

Active Member
I've been tossing this around in my head a bit but Chewie really was the heart of Star Wars. People talk about how part of the reason Star Wars was so big was how it wasn't spaceships on strings but real visual effects, well Chewie was part of that too. Not a rubber forehead alien but someone who inhabited the space, looked real enough, had enough nuance that you could generally tell what he was saying even if it was just roars. A ton of non-speaking creatures owe a lot to Mayhew's performance, including the MCU's Groot. I had posted for May the Fourth a photo of my time in Disney meeting Chewie on my birthday and I teared up. Rest well, big guy.
 

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