Bob Anderson, the fightin' Darth Vader, dead at 89

Credit: FirstShowing.net

I'll admit that up until the other day I had no idea who Bob Anderson was. I never knew that someone other than David Prowse wore Darth Vader's garb whenever the Sith Lord threw down, but someone did and that was Bob Anderson. An Olympic fencer, he was initially hired to choreograph the lightsaber duels in the Star Wars Original Trilogy, but he soon stepped into Vader's shoes after Prowse couldn't quite get a hang of it. According to Mark Hamill, George Lucas wanted to keep a lid on this fact, but Hamill spoke out in 1983 and revealed Anderson's role. Apparently Hamill felt that the master swordsman deserved credit where credit was due.

"It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George (Lucas) I didn't think it was fair any more," Hamill told Starlog magazine, referring to the legendary director and producer. "Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It's ridiculous to preserve the myth that it's all done by one man."

Unfortunately, he still seems to have been overshadowed over the decades. He also worked on other movies such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, two James Bond films, and The Princess Bride.

I tip my nerd hat to you, Mr. Anderson. You made Darth Vader even more fearsome and cool.

(h/t Science Fiction.com)