Peter Mayhew

Peter Mayhew (May 19, 1944 – April 30, 2019) was a British actor, best remembered for his portrayal of Chewbacca in the Star Wars films. He was born in Barnes, London, England.
==Biography==
Peter Mayhew was working as a hospital assistant at Mayday University Hospital in Thornton Heath, Croydon, Surrey. Prior to his work on Star Wars, Mayhew was first cast in the role of a Minotaur on a previous movie filming nearby. The producers, Ray Harryhausen and Sam Wanamaker discovered Mayhew from a photograph in a newspaper article about men with large feet. Mayhew's portrayal of the Minotaur in the 1977 film impressed several film-industry employees, who offered him a chance to act for more movies in the future; he accepted. After finishing his work as the Minotaur, Mayhew received a phone call from 20th Century Fox, who informed him of the production for Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and asked him to audition for one of the characters. Mayhew remarked that "You don't get these chances [to star in a film] very often," so he accepted the offer and made his way to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, which incidentally was also near the hospital Mayhew worked at. 
Upon entering the office, Mayhew spotted paintings of the characters on a wall, done by Ralph McQuarrie. At one end was Darth Vader, who was listed as "Six foot nine." Mayhew quipped that Vader was "too small," so he surveyed the other characters. At the other end was Chewbacca, whose initial design was described by Mayhew as "almost like a Neanderthal man" with a small sign that read "Eight foot plus, blue eyes." Having blue eyes himself, Mayhew picked Chewbacca as the character to audition. Immediately afterward, the door to the office opened; director George Lucas walked into the room, with producer Gary Kurtz flanking him. Mayhew stood up from the sofa on instinct, something he attributes to living in England. Lucas looked up, shook hands with Mayhew, turned to Kurtz and said "I think we found him." Lucas and Kurtz would go on to explain what the character was, as well as the design of the costume. Originally, Chewbacca had shorts and a vest, which Lucas advised against due to Chewbacca being an animal.
Lucas originally had the idea of casting David Prowse, a six footer, as Chewbacca, but in a show of irony, Prowse chose to be Darth Vader, because he "didn't want to be a masked character." Consequently, the role of Chewbacca was given to Mayhew. His first shot was Docking Bay 94, where Han Solo was talking to Jabba the Hutt.Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy When cast in the role, he studied the movement of large animals at the zoo to come up with an authentic sense of movement for Chewbacca. Mayhew did not provide the voice of Chewbacca; that was created by the film's sound designer, Ben Burtt, by mixing together the growls of different animals.
In addition to his work as Chewbacca in the films, he appeared in character in various commercials and for hospital appearances for sick children. Mayhew lived in Granbury, Texas. In an interview with the Fort Worth Star Telegram, he jokingly noted that he didn't get a medal at this ceremony either, a reference to the Star Wars scene in which Luke and Han get medals but the Wookiee gets none.
He was kind enough to make a cameo as himself in the Paducah Imperials FanForce feature-length fan film Star Wars Fanboy, scaring off stormtroopers with Wookiee noises, some of which he made himself on set.
Mayhew's family announced that he had passed away on April 30, 2019 in his North Texas home.
==Works==
===Filmography===
Title 	Release Date	Role
 	1977 	Chewbacca
Donny & Marie: Episode #3.1 	1977 	Chewbacca
The Star Wars Holiday Special 	1978 	Chewbacca
The Muppet Show: Episode #4.17 	1980 	Chewbacca
 	1980 	Chewbacca
Return of the Ewok 	1982 	Chewbacca
 	1983 	Chewbacca
1997 MTV Movie Awards 	1997 	Chewbacca
 	2005 	Chewbacca
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: "Wookiee Hunt"	2011 	Special Thanks
 	2015 	Chewbacca
 	2017 	Chewbacca consultant
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
*Official website 
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Category:Actors who have portrayed Chewbacca
Category:Deceased actors
Category:Star Wars original trilogy actors
Category:Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith actors
Category:Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens actors
Category:Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi actors
Category:The Star Wars Holiday Special actors