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Star Wars Actor Kenny Baker Dies at Age 81 (theguardian.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes The Guardian:
The British actor who played R2-D2 in the Star Wars films has died at the age of 81 after a long illness. Kenny Baker, who was 3-feet 8-inches tall, shot to fame in 1977 when he first played the robot character.
He went on to play the character in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as the three Star Wars prequels from 1999 to 2005. He also appeared in a number of other much loved films in the 1980s, including The Elephant Man, Time Bandits and Flash Gordon.
Baker's niece told the newspaper that "He brought lots of happiness to people and we'll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world..."
He went on to play the character in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as the three Star Wars prequels from 1999 to 2005. He also appeared in a number of other much loved films in the 1980s, including The Elephant Man, Time Bandits and Flash Gordon.
Baker's niece told the newspaper that "He brought lots of happiness to people and we'll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world..."
He will be remembered by all who hear him.
Most people wouldn't have recognized him on the street if he wasn't in that tin can.
They would recognize him by the Astromech beeping and whirring noises that he used to communicate. His ability to communicate in Astromech is one of the primary reasons that George Lucas selected him for the role of R2D2.
You mean there was a MAN IN THERE??
Get the fuck out of here.
It had to be said. Really.
He should have gone into porn. He missed his calling.
Kenny Baker isn't dead; he's just returning the map.
Oh, sorry. Wrong Kenny.
That really stinks. Baker was a nice man and very open to his fans. He was also in Time Bandits- another beloved movie.
At the very least- you could say he was a man who didn't make the world a worse place, Though I suspect he did far better than that.
RIP Kenny.
Another consultant who stuck it out.
"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
no one would recognize you period... sucks for you quit hating on a man's death
It wasn't planned. At the time I was going to night school learning welding, carpooling with 2 other guys, class got out at 11:30 PM. School was downtown San Diego, we all lived 20 miles east at the time (El Cajon). Driving home one Thursday night we'd smoked our customary 2-3 bowls when we were going past Mission Valley, where the theater sign proclaimed Star Wars with a midnight showtime. I said "Hey, anyone wanna catch a movie?". The other 2 guys said sure, I got off the freeway, parked, got in line, the rest is history.
Baker had a varied career that included lots of musical theatre and the circus as well as heaps of roles in other productions. I bet he had a million stories to tell.
Who could have imagined that because off the shelf analogue radio controls were so crappy in the 1970s and a series of accidental meetings, it was easier to hire him to steer the inside of the R2D2 Prop. That he was short made him in the Star Wars promotion circuit with kids and so forth.
What a life.
From what I've read, his counterpart Daniels is a 'difficult' personality and the two didn't get along. And from what I've read of that relationship, Baker towered in stature over Daniels as a person.
Thanks for being part of my childhood.
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
Beep Boooooop.
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Horror/Sci Fi writer Stephen King was found dead in his Maine home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.
means 1.12 m
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
RIP buddy
But he wasn't well loved throughout the world, the RD-D2 character he played was. Most people wouldn't have recognized him on the street if he wasn't in that tin can.
That's the truth.
That's your truth...
Two words: Time Bandits
RIP Fidgit.
Millions of housewives and office drones will miss him.
but he's in Hell. He can not hear you.
You may as well party about the new sticker on a bottle of Cisco.
I'm not hating on his death, I'm hating on this idea that most people knew that R2-D2 had an actor. I thought it had essentially just been an RC car, and though I do not have facts to back me up, I cannot believe that I am in the minority on that.