Dave Prowse - R.I.P.

[brothersteve]

Weightlifter, bodybuilder, and actor has allegedly passed from COVID-19 in a London hospital. He lived from 7/1/1935 to 11/28/2020.

Although I'm not a Star Wars fanatic, I did enjoy the first 3 movie in the late 70's- early 80's and the articles I read on him.

R.I.P. David Prowse!

[trog]

Here he is in a old video.www.snotr.com/video/1868/Be_careful_of_what_you_wish

And an old picture


source: twitter.com/DrStockleyPatel/status/1332990163153248256

[Deuce Gunner]

From Bill Hinbern's website:


The actor who played the part of the antagonist, Darth Vader, in the immensely popular Star Wars Trilogy, died over the weekend in a hospital in London, England, after a short illness.



He was 85 years of age.



Born in Bristol, England, David Charles Prowse, became interested in bodybuilding long before acting.



He won the British Heavyweight Weightlifting Championship in 1962, 1963, and 1964.



He also represented England in the weightlifting event at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia.



He opened a series of gyms, including “The Dave Prowse Fitness Centre” in Southwark, London.



He edited and published a bodybuilding magazine called, “Power Fitness Health Sport,” during the late 1960s which ran for twenty-four issues.



He once owned the legendary 172lb. 9 oz, heavyweight "Thomas Inch Unliftable Challenge Dumbbell," nicknamed, “Ole 172.”



And, yes, Prowse could lift the dumbbell off the ground, while many strongmen in the past could not.



He helped to train Christopher Reeve for the lead role in Superman (1978) after lobbying for the part himself.



Because of his bodybuilding and weightlifting career, he cut a imposing figure at a muscular 6 feet, 6 inch tall frame.



Prowse had established himself as a prominent figure in the UK as the first Green Cross Code Man, a superhero used in road safety public information aimed at children.



Various agents discovered him and offered him acting roles in mainly as monsters in horror movies.



In 1971, he played Frank Alexander's bodyguard, Julian, in the cult classic, “A Clockwork Orange.”



After seeing Prowse play this part, George Lucas offered him a part in the original “Star Wars.”



He could be either Chewbacca, the hairy, gentle, hero, or Darth Vader, the arch-villain.



Prowse told the BBC in a 2013 interview that the choice had been simple…



“I said, ‘Well, don’t say any more, George, I’ll have the villain’s part.’”



“You always remember the bad guy.”



The other reason he turned down Chewbacca, he said, “I thought, ‘Oh, God no, three months in a gorilla skin, no thank you very much.’”



While David Prowse played the part of the intense, menacing, figure as Darth Vader, in costume, it was James Earl Jones that voiced the part.



In the BBC interview, Prowse said that it was not actually his accent that had led to the change.



Wearing Darth Vader’s mask had caused his lines to come out muffled during filming, he said, and Mr. Lucas did not have time to fly him out to America to overdub the lines afterward.



Mr. Prowse only learned that his voice was missing from the film at its premiere.



“I’m watching the film and all of a sudden this strange voice comes over.

“I thought, ‘Oh, goodness me, that’s not me.’”



But he said that Jones had been a great choice for the part and the pair became friends.



He wrote a book, “Fitness is Fun,” and published an autobiography, "Straight from the Force's Mouth," in 2011.



Rest in peace, David Prowse, "May the force be with you, always!"

[Dave Reslo]

Let's not forget he was the first man to lift the Dinnie Stones (and I think the tallest man to lift them until Mark Felix)