Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew dies at North Texas home
The man whose iconic Wookiee roar was heard by generations died Tuesday evening in his North Texas home.
Peter Mayhew embodied the role of Chewbacca — Han Solo’s Wookiee sidekick — in both Star Wars trilogies as well as in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Mayhew lived in Wise County near Boyd, Texas,
He was 74 when he died at his house on Tuesday with family by his side, his family said in a statement on Twitter.
Mayhew was dedicated to philanthropy and was heavily involved in the 501st legion, Wounded Warriors, Make-A-Wish and other nonprofits, his family wrote. He also started the Peter Mayhew Foundation.
“He not only provided funds but became personally involved with each individual, family and cause he supported,” the statement said.
Born in South West London on May 14, 1944, Mayhew grew to be a towering 7-feet-3.
Mayhew in DFW
Throughout his time in North Texas, Mayhew was a guest of honor at various Sci-Fi conventions, such as the Sci-Fi expo in Grapevine in 2001.
At the 2001 convention, Mayhew fielded questions about Star Wars; his favorite film was “The Empire Strikes Back”; no, he did not get to keep the Chewbacca costume and yes, Harrison Ford was nice, he told the Star-Telegram at the time.
At the convention, Mayhew said he was like everyone else, expect for his height.
“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “I’ve got a wife, two girls, and a dog and a cat and a house. I’m a normal person.”
Even then, he was amazed at the longevity of the Star Wars franchise.
“It still amazes me that there is an interest,” he said. “We knew we had something good, and I said, ‘If it lasts five years, it’s going to be OK.’ But never in my wildest dreams did I realize that it was going to be three generations.”
In 2005, Mayhew became a U.S. citizen at the Arlington Convention Center. He lived in Granbury at the time.
At the event, Mayhew was swarmed by fans and fellow immigrants, who asked him for autographs and photos after the ceremony, according to a Star-Telegram article.
“You can get awards for everything, but you only get one certificate for being an American,” he said at the time. “We enjoy it, and this is absolutely wonderful.”
In 2007, Mayhew was a guest of honor at the McKinney “Lazy Dragon Con,” a science-fiction/fantasy-themed convention.
Mayhew became sick while filming “The Force Awakens” and trained Joonas Suotamo as the Finnish basketball player took over the Chewbacca role in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
About being trained for the role, Suotamo said Mayhew’s “guidance and kindness” were invaluable as he embodied the Wookiee’s character.
“I aspire to make Peter proud and bring Star Wars fans the Chewie they know and love,” he wrote in an Instagram post in February 2017.
Suotamo tweeted about Mayhew’s death at 6:45 p.m.
“As the entire Star Wars universe grieves over this terrible loss, my thoughts and prayers are with his wife Angie and his family and all of the fans whose lives he has impacted,” he tweeted.
Mark Hamil tweeted Thursday that Mayhew was “the gentlest of giants — A big man with an even bigger hearts who never failed to make me smile.”
This story contains information from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published May 2, 2019 at 7:39 PM.