Quite sad to hear this news today. We lost another critical part of the original trilogy; it was just announced that Peter Mayhew passed away April 30th. I think it is completely fair to say that his physical portrayal of the character defined the quintessential wookiee, and really is what made Chewie, Chewie. If you just reflect for a moment, and think on how his parts were entirely non-speaking, and then contrast that with how much personality you automatically assign to the character when you think of Chewbacca, that fairly tells you how much his contributions were. He was so much more than an actor in a hairy suit. As a fan/kid, is there anyone who did not want Chewie as their co-pilot and friend? He came quite a way from his start as a hospital orderly. RIP Peter William Mayhew (19 May 1944 – 30 April 2019)
I snuck out of bed at 6 am on my 8th Bday to find my first SW toy, this impressive beast I loved so much. Throughout the day I got a few more figures that I can't even remember, Chewie was my fave! Of course Mayhew did not exist for me at the time but unbeknownst, as with Roddy Mcdowell, he became one of my favorite actor. RIP dear sir.
