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Bob Anderson, the Man Behind Vader's Lightsaber, Dies at 89

Posted by timothy on from the sad-news-for-the-new-year dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Australia's ABC News: "Bob Anderson, an Olympic swordsman who staged fights for films including the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died at the age of 89. ... Anderson donned Darth Vader's black helmet and fought light-saber battles in two of the three original Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but his role was not initially publicized." The accompanying video clips are great; I never thought about anyone being in the Vader suit besides David Prowse.

2 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Not just Star Wars by NorbrookC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He was the swordmaster behind LOTR and the Princess Bride. His skill was not just being able to do it, but to teach others to do it so it looked right on screen. RIP, Bob Anderson.

  2. Re:I disagree. by Endo13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wish I could mod you up.

    So many people seem to forget that Star Wars (original trilogy at least) wasn't action film, nor sci fi - it was space opera. The drama is the real point of the films. Realism in small details is pretty much irrelevant. That's what they lost in the prequels, which is why so many Star Wars fans despise them.

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    There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.