Darth Vader Died of COVID

Over the weekend, we learned the sad news that actor and former bodybuilder David Prowse, most famous for playing Darth Vader in the only Star Wars films worth watching, had passed away. Today The New York Post reports that it was COVID-19 that killed cinema’s most memorable villain.

“It’s horrible that COVID restrictions meant we did not get to see him and say goodbye,” the late actor’s daughter Rachel, 50, told the Sun.

“But when we went to collect his stuff from the hospital, the nurse said what a cool guy he was. He was such a larger-than-life character. He would have loved to see himself trending on Twitter,” she added.

Prowse’s daughter also commented on her father’s appearance, as the actor was 198 cm tall (that’s about 6’6”) saying “He might have looked quite scary but as a person, he was a sweet, kind and generous man. He really was a gentle giant. And to us he was our dad.”

A lot of people think of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader because his vocal performance was so memorable, but Jones asked to be uncredited for the role in the first two films because he felt it was Prowse who really brought the character to life.

Star Wars was a massive part of my childhood and even though as an adult it feels more like a few good movies rather than a franchise I still enjoy, David Prowse was a huge part of what made those movies so good. There’s a lot of talk today about the lack of respect for motion capture actors, but don’t forget Prowse was physically on-set with the cast, and even in the later movies where he knew his performance would be re-recorded in ADR, he did what it took to get the best performance out of everyone around him.

And if you want to avoid any more of your childhood heroes from dying preventable deaths, all you have to do is wear a mask and stay home.