Baker grew up in Birmingham, and was told as a child that he would probably not live past puberty.He met his wife Eileen following an appearance on the Michael Parkinson TV chat show, after she wrote in to say she was a little person and wanted to meet him.
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Baker’s agent Johnny Mans said: “Kenny was truly a great friend, one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet and a fabulous and talented performer”.
Baker’s nephew, Drew Myerscough, told local media his uncle had suffered respiratory problems for nearly a decade.
Baker, who had been ill for a long time, was confined to a wheelchair and unable to attend the premiere of last year’s wildly popular “Star Wars” reboot in Los Angeles.
Baker gained fame in the 1970s when he was cast as the actor inside R2-D2’s cylindrical robot costume in Star Wars.
Goodbye #KennyBaker A lifelong loyal friend-I loved his optimism & determination He WAS the droid I was looking for!
“I went everywhere with him and when he had a gig, I looked after the sound. Goodbye Mister Kenny Baker”.
Shield added her uncle had been invited to the premiere of the latest film in Lucas’ franchise Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Los Angeles past year (15) but was too unwell to travel.
Baker’s niece, Abigail Shield, told The Guardian that her uncle’s passing was very sad but not unexpected. “But he was consulted by certain people”. We’re all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime.
Ewan also took to twitter and said it was “lovely” to work with Kenny on the sci-fi franchise.
So sorry to hear about this.
Born to a music-loving family in the central England city of Birmingham on August 24, 1934, Baker started his show-business career at 16 as part of a troupe of small performers. He began performing at the age of 16 with a troupe called Burton Lester’s Midgets.
While he was most recognized for his success in the Star Wars movies, Baker also had appearances in a number of memorable films from the ’80s and ’90s, including Flash Gordon, Time Bandits, The Elephant Man, and Goodies.
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And actress Linda Lusardi said: “So sad Kenny Baker died last night”.
