David Charles Prowse (1 July 1935 – 28 November 2020) was an English actor, bodybuilder, strongman and weightlifter. He portrayed
Darth Vader
Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...
in the
original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and a
manservant
A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly de ...
in
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
's 1971 film ''
A Clockwork Orange''. In 2015, he starred in two documentaries concerning his Darth Vader role, one titled ''The Force's Mouth'', which included Prowse voicing Darth Vader's lines with studio effects applied for the first time, and the other titled ''
I Am Your Father'', covering the subject of the fallout between Prowse and
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in December 10, 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved to San Francisco in 2005. It is best known for creating and producing th ...
.
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
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 cam ...
media aimed at teaching children and young people
road safety
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...
.
Early life
David Charles Prowse was born on 1 July 1935 in
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, England. He was the son of Gladys (''née'' Burt) and Charles Prowse. He was brought up on the
Southmead
Southmead is a northern suburb and wards of the United Kingdom, 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. It is the location of on ...
housing estate in Bristol, gaining a scholarship to
Bristol Grammar School
Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowe ...
. Prowse was tall, standing , and developed an interest in
bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...
. His early jobs included a
bouncer at a dance hall, where he met his future wife, 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. The following two years
he represented
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the
weightlifting
Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...
event at the
1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...
in
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Western Australia.
During his bodybuilding course, Prowse became friends with
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
and
Lou Ferrigno
Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. (; born November 9, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. He won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the documentary film '' Pumping Iron'' ...
.
Prowse could
deadlift
The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...
as much as and in 1963, became the first man to lift the
Dinnie Stones after Dinnie father and son duo.
During his prime, Prowse weighed around .
During the 1970s, Prowse developed a minor interest with
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
and trained many British wrestlers of the time.
Prowse helped to train
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...
for the lead role in ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'' (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. He starred as Westley in ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' (1987), and also had lead roles in films such as ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) and the Saw (fr ...
for his role as Westley in ''
The Princess Bride'' (1987).
Prowse also became fitness consultant to
Harrods
Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...
,
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. Notably, Arnold Schwarzenegger sometimes trained at Prowse's gym and the British bodybuilder was also a judge at the last
Mr. Universe contest Schwarzenegger won.
After making his last professional film appearance as Vader in 1983, he returned his major focus to weightlifting and continued to appear on some strength demonstrations in the United Kingdom until the late 1990s.
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 ...
'': the opening sequence of episode 2 "The Invisible Man". Also in 1968, he was cast as kilt wearing and bagpipe playing Emlyn MacGregor in
The Beverly Hillbillies
''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...
episode "Coming Through the Rye" (season 7 episode 4). He made an appearance as henchman Tony in the 1969 TV show The Saint (series 6 episode 20) starring Roger Moore.
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 in 2000.
He had a role as Frank Alexander's
manservant
A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly de ...
, Julian, in the film ''
A Clockwork Orange'' (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 and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
.
He played a circus strongman in ''
Vampire Circus'' (1972), a
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...
in the ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' serial ''
The Time Monster
''The Time Monster'' is the fifth and final serial of the Doctor Who (season 9), ninth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 20 May to 24 June 1 ...
'' (also 1972), and an android named Coppin in ''
The Tomorrow People
''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction on television, science fiction television series created by Roger Price (television producer), Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV Network, th ...
'' in 1973. He appeared in an episode of ''
Space: 1999'', "
The Beta Cloud
"The Beta Cloud" is the 16th episode of the second series of ''Space: 1999'' (and the 40th episode overall of the programme). The screenplay was written by "Charles Woodgrove" (a pseudonym of producer Fred Freiberger); the director was Robert Lyn ...
" (1976), right before he was cast as
Darth Vader
Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...
. Around that time, he appeared as the Black Knight in the
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
film ''
Jabberwocky
"Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, 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' ...
'' (1977) and was supposed to play Minoton in ''
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger'' (1977), but the part went to
Peter Mayhew instead, who later played
Chewbacca in ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
''.
Prowse claimed that he nearly got the role of
Jaws in ''
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
'' (which ultimately went to
Richard Kiel) 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 created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
before
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
.
Prowse had a small role as
Hotblack Desiato's bodyguard in the
1981 BBC TV adaptation of ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...
''. He appeared in the first series of ''
Ace of Wands'' on
LWT and as a bodyguard in ''
Callan'' (1974), a feature film version of
the TV series, as well as the character Wellington in one episode 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 Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...
production of ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
'' in 1978.

Prowse played
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...
in three films, ''
Casino Royale'' and the
Hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
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 Frankenstein (Hammer film series), Hammer's ''Frankenstein'' s ...
'' and ''
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell''.
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 between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...
''. 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
"Stupid Cupid" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka that became a hit for Connie Francis in 1958.
Recording history
After almost three years of failure, Connie Francis finally had a hit in the spring of 1958 with a rock ballad ...
". The earlier routine was also featured in the 1974 film ''
The Best of Benny Hill'', 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'' 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
The 63rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 2010. American filmmaker Tim Burton served as jury president for the main competition. Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the dram ...
.
''Star Wars''
Prowse played the physical form of
Darth Vader
Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...
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, and had
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...
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 from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...
'' when Vader's mask was removed. Instead, actor
Sebastian Shaw was used.
[Pirani, Adam. "Sebastian Shaw: The Return of Anakin Skywalker", '']Starlog
''Starlog'' was an American monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on ''Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in Aug ...
'', 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'', 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 original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...
, who played
Princess Leia
Princess Leia Organa ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is a princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Galactic Empire (Star Wars ...
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 ''Star Wars''. A typical lightsaber is shown as a luminous laser sword about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' ...
fight scenes between Vader and
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...
(
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...
), 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 Welsh film and television director active in both US and UK film productions, best known for directing the 1983 space opera '' Return of the Jedi'', the final film in the or ...
that he should be the one to throw
Emperor Palpatine (
Ian McDiarmid) 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'' (1997). In 1977, Prowse appeared as a contestant on the syndicated version of the game show ''
To Tell The Truth
''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...
'', hosted by Joe Garagiola.
After the original trilogy, future actors to succeed Prowse in his physical portrayal of Darth Vader include
Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous (''
Rogue One''),
Hayden Christensen (''
Revenge of the Sith
Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...
'', ''
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi () is a character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. In the original film trilogy, he is a Jedi Master who trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. In the prequel trilogy, he mentors Luke's father, Anakin Skywalke ...
''), Dmitrious Bistrevsky and Tom O'Connell (''Obi-Wan Kenobi''). Nevertheless, they were criticized by some fans of not having the same "body width" and intimidating movements as Prowse.
In 2002, Prowse became 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 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 ...
and
Michael Sheard. 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. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide.
The organization raises money to imp ...
.
In 2008, he was one of the cast members featured on
Justin Lee Collins'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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, 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 film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' was released, and the script had not even been written at the time.
Gary Kurtz, 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" set of accounting methods used by the film, video, television and music industry to budget and record profits for creative projects. Expenditures can be infl ...
", 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
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in December 10, 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved to San Francisco in 2005. It is best known for creating and producing th ...
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 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 married Norma Scammell in 1963 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.
...
, Croydon, in Surrey 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
The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Member of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent s ...
: "I've looked
right
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
and
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relativ ...
and right again and the only party I can safely vote for is UKIP."
Health problems

Prowse suffered from
arthritis
Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
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.
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
Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
. He underwent
radiation therapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a therapy, treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of treatment of cancer, cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignancy, malignant cell (biology), ...
at the
Royal Marsden Hospital in
South London
South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
.
Later that year he was said to be in remission.
In November 2014, the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' reported that he had
dementia
Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
.
Prowse denied this, but admitted that he had problems with his memory, which he put down to age.
Retirement
In late 2017, Prowse retired from all public appearances and events, due to ill health and the wishes of his family. His final onscreen appearance was filmed with his long-time friend the Welsh musician Jayce Lewis in a
sci-fi
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
music video titled ''Shields''. Upon completing production Prowse was quoted as saying; ''Well, that's that'' and Jayce as responding; ''Job done, Legacy made!''
Death
Prowse died at a hospital in London, England, on 28 November 2020, aged 85.
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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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
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David Prowse Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prowse, David
1935 births
2020 deaths
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Actors educated at Bristol Grammar School
Commonwealth Games competitors for England
English male bodybuilders
English male film actors
English male television actors
English male weightlifters
Male actors from Bristol
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Weightlifters at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games