David Prowse
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David Charles Prowse (1 July 1935 – 28 November 2020) was an English actor, bodybuilder and weightlifter. He portrayed
Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
(voiced by American actor
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
) in the original ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
''
trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...
and a
manservant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film ''
A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...
''. In 2015, he starred in two documentaries concerning his Darth Vader role, one entitled ''The Force's Mouth'' which included Prowse voicing Darth Vader's lines with studio effects applied for the first time, and the other entitled '' I Am Your Father'' covering the subject of fallout between Prowse and Lucasfilm. Prior to his role as Vader, Prowse had established himself as a super-hero figure in the United Kingdom as the ''Green Cross Man'' in the
Green Cross Code The Green Cross Code is a brand created by the National Road Safety Committee (now the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, RoSPA) to raise awareness of pedestrian road safety in the United Kingdom. The multimedia Green Cross Code c ...
road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...
public information aimed at children and young people.


Early life

David Charles Prowse was born on 1 July 1935 in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. He is the son of Gladys (''née'' Burt) and Charles Prowse. He was brought up on the
Southmead Southmead is a northern suburb and council ward of Bristol, in the south west of England, bordered by Filton in South Gloucestershire and Monks Park, Horfield, Henleaze and Westbury on Trym. The River Trym rises in Southmead and flows south ...
housing estate in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, gaining a scholarship to
Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...
. Prowse was tall, standing , and developed an interest in
bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
. His early jobs included a
bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
at a dance hall, where he met his future wife, and a helper at Henleaze Swimming Pool. Following his successes from 1961 in the British heavyweight weightlifting championship, he left Bristol in 1963 to work for a London weightlifting company.


Career


Weightlifting and training

Prowse won the British heavyweight weightlifting championship in 1962 and the following two years. He represented
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the
weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...
event at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia. Prowse helped to train
Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...
for the lead role in ''
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'' (1978) after lobbying for the part himself. In a television interview, he related how his response to being told "we've found our Superman" was "Thank you very much." Only then was he told that Reeve had been chosen for the role and he was to only be a trainer. He trained
Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...
for his role as Westley in ''
The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...
'' (1987). Prowse also became fitness consultant to Harrods, ripped up phone books under the stage name 'Jack the Ripper', and opened a series of gyms, including The Dave Prowse Fitness Centre in Southwark, London.


Acting

His first appearance is a brief cameo in a gym as a weightlifter in the 1968 TV show ''
The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on IT ...
'': the opening sequence of episode 2 "The Invisible Man". In the United Kingdom, Prowse was well known as the Green Cross Man, a superhero invented to promote a road safety campaign for children in 1975. As a result of his association with the campaign, which ran between 1971 and 1990, he received the
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
in 2000. He had a role as Frank Alexander's
manservant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
, Julian, in the film ''
A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...
'' (1971), in which he was noticed by the future ''Star Wars'' director
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
. He played a circus strongman in ''
Vampire Circus ''Vampire Circus'' is a 1972 British horror film directed by Robert Young and starring Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters and Anthony Higgins (billed as Anthony Corlan). It was written by Judson Kinberg, and produced by Wilbur Stark and Michael ...
'' (1972), a Minotaur in the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' serial ''
The Time Monster ''The Time Monster'' is the fifth and final serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 20 May to 24 June 1972. The serial is set in a vi ...
'' (also 1972), and an android named Coppin in ''
The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979. The theme music was ...
'' in 1973. He appeared in an episode of '' Space: 1999'', "
The Beta Cloud "The Beta Cloud" is the fourteenth episode of the second series of '' Space: 1999'' (and the thirty-eighth episode overall of the programme). The screenplay was written by Charles Woodgrove (a pseudonym of producer Fred Freiberger); the director ...
" (1976), right before he was cast as
Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
. Around that time, he appeared as the Black Knight in the
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...
film ''
Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The ...
'' (1977) and was supposed to play Minoton in ''
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger ''Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger'' is a 1977 fantasy film directed by Sam Wanamaker and featuring stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film stars Patrick Wayne, Taryn Power, Jane Seymour and Patrick Troughton. The third and final ''Sin ...
'' (1977), but the part went to
Peter Mayhew Peter William Mayhew (19 May 1944 – 30 April 2019) was a British-American actor. He was best known for portraying Chewbacca in the ''Star Wars'' film series. He played the character in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 origin ...
instead, who later played Chewbacca in ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
''. Prowse claimed that he nearly got the role of
Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...
in ''
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
'' (which ultimately went to
Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing tall, he was known for portraying Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Kiel's next-most-recognized role is the t ...
) and was offered the part of
Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
before Arnold Schwarzenegger. Prowse had a small role as
Hotblack Desiato This page is a list of characters in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', by Douglas Adams. The descriptions of the characters are accompanied by information on details about appearances and references to the characters. Main characters ...
's bodyguard in the 1981 BBC TV adaptation of ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...
''. He appeared in the first series of '' Ace of Wands'' on
LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
and as a bodyguard in ''
Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...
'' (1974), a feature film version of the TV series. He played Charles, the duke's wrestler, in the
BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...
production of '' As You Like It'' in 1978. Prowse played
Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...
in three films, '' Casino Royale'' and the Hammer horrors ''
The Horror of Frankenstein ''The Horror of Frankenstein'' is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and semi-remake of the 1957 film '' The Curse of Frankenstein'', of Hammer's ''Frankenstein'' series. It was produced and direct ...
'' and ''
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell ''Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell'' is a 1974 British horror film, directed by Terence Fisher and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It stars Peter Cushing, Shane Briant and David Prowse. Filmed at Elstree Studios in 1972 but not releas ...
''. Prowse made two uncredited appearances on ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...
''. On Hill's first show for
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
in 1969, he played a briefs-clad muscleman in the "Ye Olde Wishing Well" quickie, and in 1984 "Scuttlevision" he showed off his muscles in a sketch set to the song " Stupid Cupid". The earlier routine was also featured in the 1974 film ''
The Best of Benny Hill ''The Best of Benny Hill'' is a 1974 film version of material from the television comedy series ''The Benny Hill Show''. This movie features sketches from the early Thames Television years, from 1969 to 1973. All the sketches in the film are f ...
'', in which he was credited. Among his many non-speaking roles, Prowse played a major role in "Portrait of Brenda", the penultimate episode of ''
The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...
'' broadcast in 1969. In May 2010, he played Frank Bryan in ''The Kindness of Strangers'', an independent British film produced by Queen Bee Films. The film screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.


''Star Wars''

Prowse played the physical form of
Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. Prowse spoke the dialogue during filming, but George Lucas wanted a "darker voice" than Prowse's relatively jovial
West Country accent West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of South West England, the area sometimes popularly known as the West Country. The West Country is often defined as encompassi ...
, and had
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
provide a more sinister, malevolent voice for the character. Prowse stated he was originally told he would be seen and heard at the end of ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' when Vader's mask was removed. Instead, actor Sebastian Shaw was used.Pirani, Adam. "Sebastian Shaw: The Return of Anakin Skywalker", '' Starlog'', July 1987, Vol. 11, Iss. 120, p. 56–57, 96. Upon Prowse's death, Lucas stated that:
David brought a physicality to Darth Vader that was essential for the character. He made Vader leap off the page and on to the big screen, with an imposing stature and movement performance to match the intensity and undercurrent of Vader’s presence. David was up for anything and contributed to the success of what would become a memorable, tragic figure.
In the 2004 documentary ''
Empire of Dreams ''Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy'' is a 2004 documentary film directed by Kevin Burns and narrated by Robert Clotworthy. It documents the making of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy: ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The Empire Stri ...
'', actress
Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...
, who played Princess Leia in the original trilogy films, quipped that they nicknamed Prowse "Darth Farmer" (a jibe regarding his West Country accent). In the
lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the '' Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the o ...
fight scenes between Vader and
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The E ...
( Mark Hamill), Prowse, who was not a very skilled swordsman and kept breaking the staffs used as the lightsabers, was replaced by the scene's fight choreographer, the stuntman and fencing coach Bob Anderson. Prowse felt sidelined by Anderson during the making of ''Return of the Jedi'' in particular, and said he was only able to persuade director
Richard Marquand Richard Alfred Marquand (22 September 1937 – 4 September 1987) was a British film and television director active in both US and UK film productions, best known for directing 1983's ''Return of the Jedi''. He also directed the critically accla ...
that he should be the one to throw the Emperor down the shaft after Marquand had tried and failed for a week to film the scene successfully without him. Prowse reprised his role of Darth Vader for the video games '' Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game'' (1996) and ''
Monopoly Star Wars ''Monopoly Star Wars'' is the 1997 Monopoly franchise Star Wars video game based on the board game and set in the Star Wars fictional universe. It is one of many ''Monopoly'' video game adaptions. The game was developed by Artech Studios and publ ...
'' (1997). From 2002 Prowse was an honorary member and honorary leader of the 501st Legion, a fan group dedicated to ''Star Wars'' costuming. Prowse continued to associate himself with his role in the ''Star Wars'' films and was involved in the convention circuit. Despite this, he was not included in some reunions of the original cast, such as those for the ''Empire of Dreams'' documentary and the 2005 '' Vanity Fair'' cover. While being interviewed by Kevin Moore of '' The Moore Show Prime Time'', he admitted his dislike of the prequel trilogy and said the new films were "out of context" in terms of special effects in comparison to the original trilogy. In July 2007, Prowse joined many others from the ''Star Wars'' films for the first ever ''Star Wars'' Celebration event held outside the United States. It was run by Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Cards Inc. Group, at the
ExCeL Exhibition Centre ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...
in London. The occasion was to mark the 30th anniversary of ''Star Wars''. Prowse played a cameo role in the ''Star Wars'' fan films "Order of the Sith: Vengeance" and its sequel "Downfall" – ''Order of the Sith'', alongside
Jeremy Bulloch Jeremy Andrew Bulloch (16 February 1945 – 17 December 2020) was an English actor. In a career that spanned six decades, he gained recognition for originating the physical portrayal of Boba Fett in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, appearing as th ...
and
Michael Sheard Michael Sheard (18 June 1938 – 31 August 2005) was a Scottish character actor who featured in many films and television programmes, and was known for playing villains. His most prominent television role was as strict deputy headmaster Mauric ...
. These fan films were made in Britain in support of the charity
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
. In 2008, he was one of the cast members featured on
Justin Lee Collins Justin Lee Collins (born 28 July 1974) is an actor and former radio and television presenter from Bristol, England. Collins began his career as a stand up comedian in the 1990s when he was in his late teens. He then presented a number of TV sh ...
's '' Bring Back...Star Wars''. In the episode, Prowse commented that he had a dispute with Lucas after he allegedly leaked reports of Darth Vader's death to the press. Prowse had previously suggested that Darth Vader could be Luke Skywalker's father in a speech he gave to
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, in 1978. However, this was shortly after the release of ''Star Wars'' and nearly two years before ''
The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...
'' was released, and the script had not even been written at the time.
Gary Kurtz Gary Douglas Kurtz (July 27, 1940 – September 23, 2018) was an American film producer whose list of credits includes ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Retu ...
, the producer of ''The Empire Strikes Back'', said in the 2015 documentary '' I Am Your Father'' that Prowse's apparent plot spoiler was simply "a good guess." Prowse stated his contract for ''Return of the Jedi'' included a share of profits on the film, and although it grossed $475 million on a $32 million budget, Prowse explained in an interview in 2009 that he never received residuals for his performance. Due to "
Hollywood accounting Hollywood accounting (also known as Hollywood bookkeeping) is the opaque or creative accounting methods used by the film, video, television and music industry to budget and record profits for creative projects. Expenditures can be inflated to re ...
", the actual profits are sent as "distribution fees" to the studio, leaving nothing to distribute to others. In July 2010, Prowse was banned by Lucas from attending official ''Star Wars'' fan conventions. Lucas had given Prowse no reason, other than stating that Prowse "burnt too many bridges" between Lucasfilm and himself. In 2011, Prowse wrote and released his autobiography ''Straight from the Force's Mouth''. A 2015 Spanish documentary by filmmaker Marcos Cabotá, entitled '' I Am Your Father'', detailed Prowse's then life and his blackballing by Lucasfilm, which the documentary suggested was unjustified. The leaks featured in the documentary originated from a technician working on the films.


Partnership with Jayce Lewis

Prowse became friends with Welsh musician
Jayce Lewis Jason Charles Lewis known professionally as Jayce Lewis (born 29 September 1984) is a Welsh musician from Bridgend, South Wales. In 2009 his self-produced single titled "Icon" (also included on EMI Records' ''Smash Hits 2009'' compilation) ach ...
when the latter was a teenager, after they met at a science fiction convention. At the convention, Lewis recalled learning that Prowse's son, whom he later met after a performance, was also a drummer. On their shared musical interest, Prowse identified himself as "a music fan for years, going from big band jazz, trad jazz, modern and progressive." The two became business partners with Prowse taking on a management and public relations role. He was also featured in the music video for "Shields" on the album ''Orderart''. On 1 October 2015, Lewis created a mini-documentary entitled ''The Force's Mouth'', which gave Prowse the opportunity to hear himself voicing Darth Vader's lines with studio effects applied for the first time.


Personal life

Prowse was married from 1963 to Norma Scammell and was the father of three children. He was a supporter of Bristol Rugby Club. He lived in
Addiscombe Addiscombe is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross, and is situated north of Coombe and Selsdon, east of Croydon town centre, south of Woodside, and west of Shirley. E ...
, Croydon, in south London from 1963. Prowse publicly declared his support for the
United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
in the 2009 European Parliament election: "I've looked
right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...
and left and right again and the only party I can safely vote for is UKIP."


Health problems

Prowse suffered from arthritis for much of his life. This led to replacements of both hips, and to his ankle being fused, as well as several revisionary surgeries on his hip replacements. His arthritic symptoms first appeared when he was 13. Though they seemingly disappeared after he took up competitive weightlifting, they reappeared in 1990. In 2000, Prowse's left arm became
paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...
, followed by his right. He was diagnosed with
septic arthritis Acute septic arthritis, infectious arthritis, suppurative arthritis, osteomyelitis, or joint infection is the invasion of a joint by an infectious agent resulting in joint inflammation. Generally speaking, symptoms typically include redness, h ...
caused by an infection which nearly killed him. The amount of surgery he had was stated to have reduced his height from the of his younger days. Prowse worked with multiple arthritis organisations in Britain and was vice-president of the Physically Handicapped and Able-bodied Association. In March 2009, Prowse revealed that he was suffering from prostate cancer. From early 2009, he underwent
radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radi ...
at the
Royal Marsden Hospital The Royal Marsden Hospital (RM) is a specialist cancer treatment hospital in London based in Kensington and Chelsea, next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, in Fulham Road with a second site in Belmont, close to Sutton Hospital, High Down and D ...
in South London. In 2009, he was said to be in remission. In November 2014, the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' reported that he had
dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
. Prowse denied this, but admitted that he had problems with his memory, which he put down to age.


Retirement

In October 2016, Prowse retired from all public appearances and events, out of ill health and the wishes of his family. His final onscreen appearance was filmed with the Welsh musician and his long-time friend Jayce Lewis in a
sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...
music video titled ''Shields''.


Death

Prowse died at a hospital in London, England, on 28 November 2020, aged 85, after a short, unspecified illness.


Honours and awards

Prowse was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) for services to charity and road safety at the
New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...
in 2000.


Filmography


References


External links

* * *
David Prowse Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prowse, David 1935 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Commonwealth Games competitors for England English bodybuilders English male film actors English male television actors English male weightlifters Male actors from Bristol Masked actors Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bristol Grammar School Weightlifters at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games