David Prowse, the actor who played the antagonist Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, has died.
Prowse passed away at the age of 85 after a short illness.
He was born in 1935 in Bristol and became interested in bodybuilding as a young man. Prowse, who stood at 6 feet and 6 inches tall, won the British weightlifting competition in 1962 and also represented England in that discipline in that same year at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
He went into acting in the 1970s and he came to the attention of George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, after he had a role in A Clockwork Orange.
Prowse physically portrayed Darth Vader, one of film’s most iconic villains, while the voice was supplied by James Earl Jones. He also appeared in a number of James Bond movies and also played Frankenstein’s Monster in two films.
In later life he suffered from a number of health problems, including arthritis and dementia. He retired from public life in 2016.