Saun Dann Saun Dann , also known as Sohn Dann , was a jovial Human male who worked as a trader on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk . He was also secretly a member of the Rebel Alliance who maintained his own network of connections . During the Life Day holiday of 1 ABY , when the Galactic Empire blockaded Kashyyyk and declared martial law on the world , an Imperial guard wandered into Dann ' s shop and took a groomer without paying , much to the trader ' s chagrin . Dann then made his way to the home of his Wookiee friend Chewbacca , who had not yet arrived home for the holiday , and whose family was worried about his absence . After Dann assuaged the Wookiees ' fears and gave them all Life Day gifts , he reassured the Alliance ' s Princess Leia Organa — speaking to them via wallscreen — that the family would be safe . However , an Imperial search party entered the home on a hunt for ties to the Rebels . Dann nervously attempted to prevent the Imperials from discovering that Chewbacca , a well - known Alliance hero , was one of the home ' s residents , but the search party ' s Commander ordered him to leave . Dann later returned and found that a recently - arrived Chewbacca had eliminated a stormtrooper who had been left to guard the home , and the trader used the family ' s wallscreen to convince a suspicious Imperial officer that the trooper had fled his post . During another Life Day , which came at some point between 0 BBY and 3 ABY , Dann celebrated the occasion by ordering two cases of candy for children in need . When the shipment was late , he recruited a spacer to track it down , and the spacer discovered that the candy had been stolen and eaten by the stormtrooper TK - 555 . Dann resolved to find a replacement gift for the children . He again ordered candy for needy children the following Life Day , but the same fate befell it , and the spacer again brought the trader bad news . Biography . Imperial blockade . The Human male Saun Dann , also known as Sohn Dann , was a trader who operated on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk . By the year 1 ABY , he had joined the Rebel Alliance , an underground movement that was waging the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire . Dann ran a shop that was designated by the Empire as " Trading post Wookiee Planet C , " and he was a close friend to the family of the Wookiee Chewbacca , an Alliance hero . Dann once claimed to have a brother , as well as a nephew who was in the Imperial Military . Midway through 1 ABY , Chewbacca and his Human companion Han Solo were en route to Kashyyyk to celebrate the Wookiee holiday Life Day . However , the Empire blockaded the world and declared martial law in an effort to root out Rebel activity . An Imperial guard wandered into Dann ' s shop during the blockade and indicated that he was off - duty ; Dann subsequently attempted to sell him a pocket - sized aquarium but was rebuffed by the fish - hating guard . Dann then offered the man a groomer but had to step away to answer a call on his wallscreen . Chewbacca ' s wife Mallatobuck appeared on the screen , and Dann , speaking in code , informed the worried Wookiee that Chewbacca and Solo were indeed on their way home . The trader then returned to his customer , who took the groomer without paying after Dann extolled the product ' s virtues . Dann made his way to Chewbacca ' s treetop home in the city of Rwookrrorro with a delivery of Life Day gifts for the family , but he first had to make his way through an Imperial patrol . After arriving , he reassured the melancholy Wookiees that Chewbacca would make it through the patrol as well , and then distributed his gifts : a music box for Mallatobuck ; a mini - transmitter and an instruction cassette for Chewbacca ' s son , Lumpawarrump ; and a new proton pack for the mind evaporator that belonged to Chewbacca ' s father , Attichitcuk . When Attichitcuk sat down in the mind evaporator ' s chair , Dann covertly slipped him an erotic cassette that allowed the Wookiee to interact with Mermeia , a holographic fantasy woman . While Attichitcuk enjoyed some time with her , Dann was called over to the home ' s wallscreen by Mallatobuck , who was speaking to Princess Leia Organa of the Alliance . The trader identified himself as a Rebel agent and promised the Princess that he would look after Chewbacca ' s family until the Wookiee patriarch arrived home . The sound of a starship screaming overhead excited the Wookiees , but when they opened the front door , they found two Imperial stormtroopers pointing blaster rifles at them . The troopers , along with a technician and an Imperial commander , entered the home in search of ties to the Rebels . Dann offered his services as a translator and constructed a tall tale regarding Chewbacca ' s absence , but the disinterested Commander merely demanded to see his identification . Dann then helped prevent a fight between Mallatobuck and the technician after the latter had his fingers bitten by Lumpawarrump , and was subsequently told by the Commander to leave the home . The trader stalled his departure by showing the technician a performance by a holographic seven - piece Human band within the music box , and it took blaster rifles pointed at him by the stormtroopers to finally convince him to leave . Later in the day , Dann returned to the home and found Chewbacca , who was expecting more Imperials to arrive , pointing a bowcaster at him . The search party had earlier departed but had left the stormtrooper B4711 behind to guard the home , and B4711 had subsequently been sent tumbling down to the forest floor by Chewbacca and Solo upon their arrival . Dann ' s presence calmed Chewbacca down , but an Imperial officer appeared on the wallscreen , issuing a general alert for B4711 to answer his comlink . Dann inserted his identification into the wallscreen and contacted the officer , telling him that the errant stormtrooper had stolen some food and fled into the forest . His lie was accepted , and Dann left the home after wishing the relieved Wookiees a happy Life Day . The case of the missing candy . At some point between 0 BBY and 3 ABY , just prior to another occurrence of Life Day , Dann ordered two cases of candy from the city of Keren on the planet Naboo . He hoped to distribute it to poor children in one of three cities : Doaba Guerfel , Corellia ; Dearic , Talus ; or Wayfar , Tatooine . While he waited for the shipment to arrive , he visited the public Life Day tree s in all three cities . While at one of the city ' s trees , Dann grew worried over the lateness of the shipment and enlisted the help of a passing spacer whom he had heard was skilled at problem - solving . The spacer agreed to search for the missing candy and was sent by Dann to speak to the Shipping Master of Keren ' s Kwilaan Starport . The spacer ' s investigation led to Tatooine ' s city of Mos Espa and a confrontation with the stormtrooper TK - 555 , who had stolen and eaten the candy for himself . When the spacer returned to Dann and revealed the candy ' s fate , the distraught trader decided to find a replacement gift for the children . He thanked the spacer and remained at the Life Day tree for some time , selling special holiday products . The following Life Day , Dann ordered more candy for the children of one of the three cities , which again went missing . After visiting all three Life Day trees , he was greeted by the spacer in front of one of them and asked for assistance one more time . The individual was reluctant to help , suspecting that the same fate had befallen the candy , but nevertheless agreed and set off for Keren ' s Kwilaan Starport . When the spacer returned and confirmed that the candy had once again been eaten by TK - 555 , a thankful Dann rewarded the individual with one of two prizes : a decorative fruit cake or decorative varactyl egg nog . While deciding on a suitable replacement gift , Dann again remained at the Life Day tree to hawk his wares . Personality and traits . Saun Dann was a jovial individual who ordered candy for children in need during Life Day . He grew worried when the shipment was late and recruited a spacer to retrieve it , and when he discovered that the candy had been stolen , he fashioned replacement gifts from his own supplies . As a shop owner , Dann pandered to his customers and was quick to agree with their stated preferences while trying to make a sale . When an Imperial guard took a groomer without paying , Dann allowed it to happen but muttered to himself about the injustice . Although outwardly cooperative with Imperials , the trader was secretly a member of the Rebel Alliance who had his own network of connections . Dann had light skin , gray hair and brown eyes , and he sometimes wore spectacles . He could speak Galactic Basic Standard and could additionally understand Shyriiwook . In 1 ABY , his belly was ample and his hygiene subpar ; he was aware of both of those traits , and he claimed to have been thinner in his younger days . Dann was very close to the Wookiees of Chewbacca ' s family . He made his way through an Imperial patrol in order to bring them Life Day gifts , including virtual pornography for Attichitcuk , which he covertly slipped to the elderly Wookiee . When Dann entered the home and found Chewbacca pointing a bowcaster at him , he merely smiled and made a wisecrack about feeling welcome . While the Imperial search party was in the home , Dann employed many delaying tactics in an attempt to prevent them from discovering that the famous Rebel Chewbacca was one of the home ' s residents . Although he was nervous and often reduced to stammering , Dann was a quick thinker , and he tried to sell products to the Imperials ; offered to cook them food ; and distracted them with holograph ic entertainment , which he made a show of turning on . Despite a dismissal from the Imperial Commander , Dann was unwilling to depart until he found blaster rifles aimed his way . Behind the scenes . Origins . The character of Saun Dann was created for 1978 ' s " The Star Wars Holiday Special " , a television of 1977 ' s . While crafting the special , writer George Lucas envisioned a story told completely by Wookiees , but executive producers Dwight Hemion and Gary Smith were hesitant due to the Wookiees not speaking English . The idea of a character serving as the liaison between the Wookiees and the English - speaking world was thus conceived . In early story treatments of the special , the character , known only as " the Trader , " arrives at Chewbacca ' s home and gives him a video book to pass on to Lumpy as a surprise present for an annual galactic festival being hosted that year by the Wookiee planet . Although " folksy and kind , " the Trader is disinterested in the festival due to its ban on commercialism and his lack of a family with whom to spend it . He then turns down an invitation to eat dinner with Chewbacca ' s family , preferring to not become personally involved with his customers . The Trader then takes his starship to the planet Tatooine in order to spend the holiday drinking with his friends , and upon landing , discovers that Lumpy — fascinated by the trader ' s video book and unaware that he is receiving one himself — has stowed away aboard . He brings the young Wookiee to the Mos Eisley Cantina and begins drinking heavily while Lumpy explores , but he is eventually contacted by Chewbacca on a wallscreen and agrees to send the child back to the Wookiee planet aboard the " Starship Musica , " which is already headed there due to the festival . Chewbacca ends up safely landing the ship following Imperial sabotage , and back at the Wookiee planet , the Trader congratulates the Wookiee on giving the galaxy the greatest gift of all : his own talent , courage , and determination . Eventually dubbed Saun Dann , the trader character was played in the " Holiday Special " by actor Art Carney , whose greatest claim to fame at the time was his portrayal of New York City sewer worker Ed Norton on the 1950s sitcom " " . Saun Dann has been compared to Norton by " Star Wars " author Alex Newborn and described by Frank DiGiacomo of as doing an " Ed Norton in space routine " — in fact , the " Holiday Special " script at one point calls for Carney to do his " Norton schtick . " Actor Lev Mailer , who portrayed the Imperial guard who wanders into Dann ' s shop , has described his scene with Carney as an example of the classic " The Bully and The Idiot " comedy duo routine , with Carney playing the idiot to his bully . Having grown up watching " The Honeymooners " , Mailer was honored to be able to work with Carney and to be the to his jokes . The fourth draft of the " Holiday Special " script describes Dann — one of thirty trading agents on the planet — as a kind , older pharmacist at the corner drug store , whose clothing is a bit frayed around the edges and who " seems to be in a state of perpetual frazzle . " When Dann gives Attichitcuk the Mermeia cassette , he is likened to a dirty old man who is acting " as if he is giving ( Attichitcuk ) the most X - rated piece of literature in the galaxy . " Several of Dann ' s lines that were present in the script ' s fourth draft went unused in the " Holiday Special " final cut , including a scene where he offers Wookiee - ookiee s to the Imperials who invade Chewbacca ' s home . When Dann leaves the home in the final version of the " Holiday Special " , Chewbacca ' s family appears to travel through space and time on their way to Kashyyyk ' s Tree of Life , a scene which was explained in the script by Dann first turning on an environmental transporter . However , this concept ultimately went unused . The French dub of the " Holiday Special " sees Dann reference real - world culture by comparing Wookiee food to French cuisine . Continuity . Dann ' s role in the " Holiday Special " was also used as an idea during development of the 1980 film for the character of Lando Calrissian , who was at one point conceived of as a gambler who operated a general store on a Wookiee planet . Dann himself has been mentioned in several " Star Wars " reference works , but his only other appearance in canon has been in the online massively multiplayer online roleplaying game " Star Wars Galaxies " . He was added to the game as a non - playable character during its 2008 Life Day events , which allowed the player to undertake a quest on his behalf . Dann could be seen at the Life Day trees in three different locations , and he would claim to have ordered Life Day candy for the children of the city in which the player spoke to him . After completing the quest , the player could choose whether or not to reveal to Dann that a stormtrooper had eaten the candy , but neither choice affected the outcome of the quest , which offered no reward to the player . Dann was again added to the game during its 2009 Life Day events , where the player could undertake the same quest regardless of whether they had done so the year before . It played out nearly identically , with a major difference being that Dann offered a reward to the player : either a fruit cake or varactyl egg nog . " Galaxies " was shut down in December 2011 , and the Life Day events were re - added to the game in the weeks before the closure . His name , Sohn Dann , is also a cheat code for the game " " . The cheat code unlocked all costumes in the game . Saun Dann ' s name has been spelled inconsistently for years . The " Holiday Special " script uses " Saun Dann , " but at one point calls him " Saundan . " The latter spelling re - appears once in the seventy - fifth issue of " Star Wars Insider " ( 2004 ) , while both " Galaxies " and the 106th issue of " Insider " ( 2008 ) use " Saun Dann . " A third spelling , " Sohn Dann , " is asserted by both 2008 ' s " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " and Lando Calrissian ' s Databank entry on StarWars . com . Due to the frequency and recentness of both " Saun Dann " and " Sohn Dann , " this article treats both spellings as canonical but favors " Saun Dann " due to its use in the " Holiday Special " script .