Kenny Baker played the lovable droid R2-D2 in the “Star Wars” films, achieving cult status and fans’ adulation without showing his face or speaking any lines.
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Baker’s nephew and carer Drew Myerscough, 48, said Baker died in bed on Saturday morning, having suffered respiratory problems for about nine years.
“He loved meeting them, he loved receiving letters from them”. Myerscough said that his uncle’s love for conventions “gave him that extra lease on life”. Between permissions, log-in credentials, size limitations, and download issues, it’s a miracle if you’re ever able to share the document at all. “You’re small enough to get into it and you’re strong enough to be able to move it, ‘” he said of R2-D2’s cylindrical metal costume in a video interview in Stockholm that he shared on his website. He was due to fly out to LA (for the most recent premiere) but doctors told him he was too unwell to fly.
Mr. Baker was a little person whose adult height was widely reported to be 3 feet, 8 inches.
Star Wars fans paid tribute to the actor. Former co-star Ewan McGregor tweeted, “It was lovely working with Kenny”.
20th Century Fox posted a photograph of C3PO standing next to Baker’s Star Wars character, and wrote: “Rest in peace, Kenny Baker, the heart and soul of R2D2”.
Actor Mark Hamill, one of the stars of the original Star Wars, praised Baker’s optimism and determination and called him “a lifelong, loyal friend”.
He also appeared in Willow (1988), Labyrinth (1986), Amadeus (1984), Time Bandits (1981), The Elephant Man and Flash Gordon (both were released in 1980 along with The Empire Strikes Back).
For the third Star Wars movie, 1983’s Return of the Jedi, Baker doubled up, also playing an Ewok named Paploo.
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He also received a credit in last year’s reboot Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
