John Fass Morton (born March 26, 1947) is an American actor, stuntman and writer. He is known for playing Dak Ralter,

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 ...

's tailgunner in ''

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 ...

'', and appearing as an astronaut in ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David Newman (screenwriter), David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment i ...

''.

Career

Morton appeared in '' A Bridge Too Far'' (1977), in the 1980 hit sequel film ''

'' as an astronaut named Nate, and also that year he appeared in ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

''. He was featured in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series ''Oppenheimer'' (1980). He portrayed Dak Ralter,

's gunner during the Battle of Hoth in ''

''. When

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 ...

played an Imperial Officer, he needed someone to cover for him as

Boba Fett Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the '' Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel ...

. Being similar in height, Morton was a body double for two days in costume. He filmed with another unit, the sequence when Fett confronts

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 Bespin hallway during

Han Solo Han Solo () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the 1977 film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and later appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''Star Wars: The F ...

's torture, while Bulloch filmed his scenes as the Imperial Officer. Afterwards, he left

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and eventually settled in public relations work back in Annapolis. He is also an accomplished musician (guitar player) and a writer (''Backstory in Blue'', 2008).

Personal life

Morton is married to Gail, and has attended several ''Star Wars'' conventions throughout the world since 1997.

Filmography

Film

References

External links

*
John Fass Morton
''

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

''
John Morton
BFI {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, John 1947 births Living people Male actors from Maryland People from Annapolis, Maryland