Kenny Baker

Kenneth George Baker (24 August 1934 – 13 August 2016) was an English actor and musician. He is best remembered for portraying the character R2-D2 in the Star Wars science fiction movie franchise.
== Early life ==
Baker was born and educated in Birmingham, Warwickshire, and at a boarding school in Kent. He was the son of Ethel (1906–1990), a pianist and dress maker, and Harold Baker (1908–1985), an artist, musician and draftsman. He went to live with his father, stepmother and half-sister in Hastings, Sussex.
Although his parents were of average height, Baker stood as an adult.
== Career ==
=== Beginnings ===
In 1951 Baker was approached on the street by a woman who invited him to join a theatrical troupe of dwarves and midgets. This was his first taste of show business. Later, he joined a circus for a brief time, learned to ice skate and appeared in many ice shows. He formed a successful comedy act called the Minitones with entertainer Jack Purvis and played in nightclubs.
=== Star Wars ===
While working with Purvis and the Minitones, Baker was selected by George Lucas to operate the robot ("droid") R2-D2 in the science fiction feature film Star Wars, released in 1977. Baker recalled that he initially turned down the role.
Baker appears as R2-D2 in six of the episodic theatrical Star Wars films, and played an additional role in 1983's Return of the Jedi as Paploo, the Ewok who steals an Imperial speeder bike. He was originally going to play Wicket, but he fell ill and that role was handed over to Warwick Davis. He revealed a feud between him and his co-star Anthony Daniels, claiming Daniels had been rude to him on numerous occasions, and stated that Daniels is rude to everyone, including fans.
Baker continued his association with the R2-D2 character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was released on 18 December 2015 in North America. He was going to be a member of the cast, but he served as consultant for the character instead. In November 2015 it was confirmed that Jimmy Vee was cast as R2-D2 in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, replacing Baker.
=== Other work ===
Baker's other films include The Elephant Man, Time Bandits (also with Jack Purvis), Willow (also with Purvis and Warwick Davis), Flash Gordon, Amadeus and Jim Henson's Labyrinth.
On television, he appeared in the British medical drama Casualty. He also had a part in the BBC production of The Chronicles of Narnia. In the late 1990s, Baker launched a brief comedy career. He played Casanova in the 1993 movie UFO
In November 2009, his biography, From Tiny Acorns: The Kenny Baker Story, was written with Ken Mills and published by Writestuff Autographs.
== Personal life ==
Baker resided in Preston, Lancashire. He was married to actress Eileen Baker (who co-starred with him in the 1977 film Wombling Free) from 1970 until she died in 1993. Although Eileen also had dwarfism, this was not inherited by their two children.
Baker was invited to attend the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Los Angeles in December 2015, but was too ill to travel to the US. He had been suffering from a lung condition for years. Instead, Baker attended the film's premiere in London.
== Death ==
Baker died on 13 August 2016, eleven days before his 82nd birthday, following a brief additional illness. Following the death of the actor it was revealed by The Sun that he had fathered a son who had been kept secret from his family and that they had contacted each other on a number of occasions.
== Filmography ==
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1960	Circus of Horrors 	Dwarf 	Uncredited
1962	Man of the World 	The Croat 	Episode: "Specialist for the Kill", credited as Ken Baker
1975	Dave Allen at Large 	Salesman 	Season 4, Episode 36
1977	Star Wars 	R2-D2 	
1977	Wombling Free 	Bungo 	
1978	Star Wars Holiday Special 	R2-D2 	TV film, credited as R2-D2
1980	The Muppet Show 	R2-D2 	Episode: "The Stars of Star Wars"
1980	The Empire Strikes Back 	R2-D2 	
1980	Flash Gordon 	Dwarf 	
1980	The Elephant Man 	Plumed Dwarf 	
1981	Time Bandits 	Fidgit 	
1981	The Goodies 	Dwarf 	Episode: "Snow White 2"
1981	Petra 	 	Voice
1982	The Hunchback of Notre Dame 	Pick Pocket 	TV film
1983	Return of the Jedi 	R2-D2, Paploo 	
1984	The Adventure Game 	HRH The Rangdo of Arg	2 episodes
1984	Amadeus 	Parody Commendatore 	
1985	Der Rosenkavalier 	Baron Och's Retinue 	TV film
1986	Mona Lisa 	Brighton Busker 	
1986	Labyrinth 	Goblin Corps 	
1987	Star Tours 	R2-D2 	Short film, uncredited
1987	Sleeping Beauty 	Elf 	
1988	Willow 	Nelwyn Band Member 	Uncredited
1989	Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader	Dufflepud 	TV special
1990	Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie 	Invisible Demon 	Episode 5
1992	Casualty 	Archie 	Episode: "Act of Faith"
1993	UFO 	Casanova 	
1999	The King and I 	Captain Orton 	Voice, credited as Ken Baker
1999	Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 	R2-D2 	
1999	Boobs in the Wood 	Bruce the Convict 	Direct-to-video
2002	24 Hour Party People 	Zookeeper 	Uncredited
2002	Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 	R2-D2 	
2002	The Cage 	Merlin 	Short film
2003	Swiss Toni 	Guyler 	Episode: "Cars Don't Make You Fat"
2005	Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 	R2-D2 	
2007	Casualty 	Charles Isaac 	Episode: "The Miracle on Harry's Last Shift"
2013	One Night at the Aristo 	The Bartender 	Voice, short film
2015	Star Wars: The Force Awakens 	R2-D2 	Consultant, final film role.
==References==
Category:1934 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:Actors with dwarfism
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male comedians
Category:English male television actors
Category:Grand Order of Water Rats members
Category:Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands
Category:People from Preston, Lancashire
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:20th-century British comedians
Category:21st-century British comedians
Category:Star Wars
Category:The Wombles
Category:The Muppets
Category:Don Bluth people
Category:The Pebble and the PenguinCategory:Pages stolen off Wikipedia