Performer inside ‘Star Wars’ movies’ R2-D2 droid
LONDON — Kenny Baker played the lovable droid R2-D2 in the “Star Wars” films, achieving cult status and fans’ adulation without showing his face or speaking any lines.
The 3-foot-8-inch performer — a word he preferred to actor — inside the waste bin-shaped costume has died at 81. Baker’s nephew, Drew Myerscough, said he found Baker dead Saturday at his home in Preston, northwest England.
Myerscough told Sky News that Baker had suffered years of breathing problems, “which he had borne very bravely.” He said the affection of “Star Wars” fans around the world “kept him going, without any doubt.”
Mark Hamill, the “Star Wars” series’ Luke Skywalker, tweeted: “Goodbye #KennyBaker A lifelong loyal friend-I loved his optimism & determination He WAS the droid I was looking for!” — a reference to a famous line from the first film.
Born to a music-loving family in the central England city of Birmingham on Aug. 24, 1934, Baker started performing at 16 as part of a troupe called “Burton Lester’s Midgets.”
Baker told The Associated Press in 1985 that he was asked, “‘What can you do?’ I said I could roller skate, ride a bike and whistle. I joined them and did all that, and conjuring tricks, played drums and comedy routines as well.”
Baker later worked as a DJ and circus clown and as part of a comedy-musical duo called the Mini-Tones with Jack Purvis, who also appeared in the “Star Wars” films.
Fame came when he was cast as the actor inside R2-D2 in 1977’s “Star Wars.”
“I worked the levers,” he told the AP.
Baker returned for “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” and reprised the role in three prequels released between 1999 and 2005.
Baker also appeared in films including “The Elephant Man,” “Time Bandits,” “Willow” and “Labyrinth.”
Baker’s wife, Eileen, died in 1993. The couple had two sons.