Kenny Baker, who became an worldwide star for portraying R2-D2, the lovable iconic droid in the Star Wars franchise, has died after fighting a long illness, according to CNN.
Advertisement
“I cared for him every day”, Myerscough said.
He recalled telling Lucas, “I don’t want to be stuck in a robot”.
Actor Kenny Baker gestures as he arrives for the United Kingdom premiere of the Star Wars Episode III in London’s Leicester Square in 2005. Rest in peace Kenny Baker. You’ve got to do it, we can’t find anyone else.
“I worked the levers”, he told the AP. He went on to reprise the role (which he said “wasn’t a real acting job”) in the next two Star Wars movies, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return Of The Jedi, as well as in all three Star Wars prequels from 1999 to 2005. You couldn’t do that with kids.
“He was just a normal, down-to-earth, regular guy that enjoyed life”, he told the BBC, adding they “rarely” discussed Star Wars, adding: “His fans worldwide kept him going and he loved nothing more than going to conventions and meeting everybody – it really gave him that extra lease of life”. In an interview on his website he described getting into the costume, saying: “I got into it and they put the lid on me like a boiled egg”. “I got into it and they put the lid on me like a boiled egg”.
Baker played the resourceful droid known for his whistles and beeps in the original Star Wars movie in 1977 and in the five following movies.
Baker’s footprints – or at least R2-D2’s – are immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The gargantuan success of Star Wars led Baker down a path to other Sci-Fi/Fantasy roles in many classics and cult classics of the genres, such as Flash Gordon, Time Bandits, Labyrinth, and even such dramatic fare as The Elephant Man and the Oscar-winning Amadeus.
Baker was born in 1934 and started his career performing in the circus, comedy troups, and ice shows before being cast by George Lucas in 1977 for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Baker grew up in Birmingham, England, and was told as a child that because of his size and expected health complications, he would not survive through puberty.
Advertisement
Tributes to the star have since followed, with “Lord of the Rings” actor Dominic Monaghan tweeting: “You left your legendary marks #KennyBaker #rip to a lovely gent and a fantastic legacy”.
