Max Rebo / Legends Max Rebo , whose real name was Siiruulian Phantele , was a male Ortolan who was known as a popular musician and head member of the Max Rebo Band . He was a skinny Ortolan , the youngest of five children . Biography . The male Ortolan named Siiruulian Phantele was born on his species ' s homeworld of Orto . As he was the smallest of five younglings , his mother feared that he would waste away . As a consequence , Phantele spent his younger years in the pursuit of food . Eventually , he ended up working in a flanth house , where he payed for his dinner every night . One day , Phantele was discovered by Evar Orbus , a crowd - pleasing Letaki wailer who was on the lookout for a young talented yet exploitable entertainer . Orbus approached Phantele , promising him that he would never need to go hungry again , provided that he signed his musical services over . Phantele ' s constant pursuit of food told him that this was an opportunity not to be missed . Phantele signed himself over to Orbus , and on the recommendation of his new manager , changed his name to " Max Rebo " . Shortly after , the Max Rebo Band was formed . Rebo played the red ball organ . At some point during the Clone Wars , Rebo attended a VIP gala held by Bezz Drexx on Coruscant . He found the reception boring , however , and he spent time off to the side of the crowd , with his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo . In 3 ABY , Evar Orbus was killed by Figrin D ' an and the Modal Nodes , because the band came to Tatooine to take their job at the Mos Eisley Cantina . This was when Sy Snootles encouraged Rebo to take lead of the musical group . Snootles , however , discreetly controlled the band herself , letting naïve Rebo take the credit as frontman . She did this in order to avoid becoming the target of those that the band might — and most likely would — potentially anger . Snootles ' plan had terrible repercussions for the band however , when Rebo signed the entire band over to Jabba Desilijic Tiure with a lifelong contract including an unlimited supply of food . The band was confined to performing in Jabba ' s Palace , until Jabba died at the hands of Leia Organa and the Rebels . After Jabba was killed , he went on tour with Sy since his other band member Droopy left to find his brothers in the desert . After Sy set off on her own , Rebo set out on his own solo career , and after many tours , joined the Rebel Alliance to entertain soldiers . He eventually left the music industry , and opened his own chain of restaurants : Max ' s Flanth House . He became quite rich , and finally settled on Coruscant . Behind the scenes . Max Rebo was created for Richard Marquand ' s 1983 film , and first appeared in the film ' s , released earlier in the same year . In the movie , he was portrayed by Simon Williamson , who also puppeteered Nien Nunb and a Mon Calamari , in addition to playing several Gamorrean guards . In his role as Rebo , Williamson wore a costume from the waist up that was constructed by Industrial Light & Magic . The costume was very tight - fitting , and has prompted Williamson to count himself lucky for not being . Unable to see , he was issued instructions via an earphone while wearing the costume . The immense weight of the costume prompted the necessity of two additional puppeteers helping to control the character ' s head and limbs . While the visual evidence from the finished film is inconclusive , production sketches and the construction of the costume itself indicate that the limbs Max uses to play the keyboard are feet rather than hands . Max was intended to be perched on a cushion at the same height as the organ ' s keys , and using his sole two limbs to play the keys . However , the 1989 West End Games sourcebook " " took the interpretation that Max was sitting or standing inside an enclosure of his organ with the lower part of his body obscured by the instrument , and depicted Ortolans that are roughly humanoid in body construction , with two arms and two legs . All subsequent depictions of the species have used this configuration . Since " Return of the Jedi " release , Rebo has appeared in various works of the " Star Wars " Expanded Universe . He and fellow band members Sy Snootles and Droopy McCool were featured in the short story " " , included in 1996 ' s anthology " Tales from Jabba ' s Palace " , which told of how their band came to be in Jabba ' s service and established them as rivals of Figrin D ' an and the Modal Nodes , the band seen in the Mos Eisley Cantina in the original . " Who ' s Who in the Max Rebo Band " , an article published in the sixty - seventh issue of " Star Wars Insider " in 2003 , was the first source to mention Rebo ' s real name of Siiruulian Phantele . The director ' s commentary on the release of " " revealed that Rebo is present among a group of Ortolans seen in the twenty - second episode of the series . As Rebo resembles a , it is noteworthy that " Phantele " becomes " Elephant " when the syllables are swapped , and that " Siiruulian " resembles the word " Cerulean " . However , no official source has confirmed that " Who ' s Who " author Rich Handley intended this parallel . The first of the American cartoon " " poked fun at Rebo ' s resemblance to an elephant , presenting every song title of the Max Rebo band as asserting that Rebo is " not " an elephant . A blue - skinned elephant creature named " Hooter " appears and plays a keyboard in short film . Many fans have speculated that Rebo inspired the creature ' s design , and although the speculation is not confirmed , it is noteworthy that " Star Wars " creator George Lucas served as the executive producer of the film .