Star Wars actor David Prowse battled coronavirus earlier than his demise, his daughter has confirmed.
The 85-year-old, who was finest recognized for immortalising Darth Vader within the authentic Star Wars franchise, died over the weekend.
Whereas it was initially confirmed that Prowse had battled a “brief sickness” earlier than his passing, his daughter Rachel has now confirmed that the actor had contracted Covid-19 and was beforehand residing with Alzheimer’s.
She advised The Sun: “It’s horrible that Covid restrictions meant we didn’t get to see him and say goodbye. However after we went to gather his stuff from the hospital, the nurse mentioned what a cool man he was. He was such a larger-than-life character. He would have liked to see himself trending on Twitter.”
Paying tribute to her father, she added: “He might need seemed fairly scary however as an individual he was a candy, variety and beneficiant man. He actually was a delicate big. And to us he was our dad.”
Mark Hamill and David Prowse in ‘Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi’ (1983). Credit score: Alamy Inventory Picture.
The actor famously donned the go well with of Darth Vader in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Again, and Return Of The Jedi. Though the Bristolian was initially set to voice the long-lasting villain as nicely, his West Nation accent was deemed famously unsuitable, with James Earl Jones ultimately voicing the position.
Although Prowse’s performing profession spanned 50 years, together with appearances in Doctor Who, A Clockwork Orange, and 1967 James Bond spoof On line casino Royale, he turned synonymous with the towering presence of Vader.
Mark Hamill, who performed Luke Skywalker within the authentic Star Wars trilogy, led online tributes to his co-star.
“So unhappy to listen to David Prowse has handed,” he wrote. “He was a sort man & way more than Darth Vader.
“Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British Weightlifting Champion & Security Icon the Inexperienced Cross Code Man. He liked his followers as a lot as they liked him.”
Others paying tribute to Prowse included Carl Weathers, who presently performs Greef Karga within the Star Wars-spinoff sequence The Mandalorian, who mentioned that Prowse’s “stature contributed a lot to Darth Vader’s legend.”
