The Star Wars films will always hold a very special place in my heart. I honestly couldn’t explain to you why a space opera sci-fi saga about religious warriors who fight each other with laser swords and telekinesis resonates so well with me, but it did. Bearing that, a little bit of trivia that I always found interesting was the fact that only two actors appeared in the first six films, namely R2D2 and C3PO.
Sadly, Kenny Baker, the long-time actor who portrayed R2D2, passed away today at the age of 83. His daughter, Abigail Shields, released a statement.
Via Guardian:
“It was expected, but it’s sad nonetheless. He had a very long and fulfilled life. He brought lots of happiness to people and we’ll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world. We’re all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime.”
Despite achieving near international fame from his role as R2D2 and further work in the industry, Baker’s success should be measured beyond his talent.
“When he was a child, he was told that he probably wouldn’t survive through puberty, being a little person in those times, they didn’t have a very good life expectancy. He did extremely well in his life. He was very ill for the last few years so we had been expecting it. He had been looked after by one of his nephews, who found him on Saturday morning.”
Thoughts and prayers to the Baker family. If you have a couple minutes, bros, pop in a Star Wars film today in memoriam.
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