Kenny Baker, the man behind R2D2 and a raft of iconic genre characters has passed away at the age of 83…
Several years ago, while attending one of the Collectormania/Showmasters events in London, we were all getting ready to leave the hotel to head to the show venue in the heart of the city. I’d been staying at the same hotel as the guests and had been out drinking with organiser Jason Joiner and crew the night. At the best of times, getting the event guests from hotel to venue can be a co-ordinating venture on a level with Dunkirk… a staggered schedule, a raft of vehicles, everyone needing to be in their allotted space in time to get where they need to be on time.
And so it was that I found myself sharing one of the official vehicles with Star Wars‘ Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Kenny Baker (R2D2). It was a surreal experience, a genuine ‘Odd Couple’ moment but both men were in high spirits and as ever full of fun and mischief. Veterans of the convention circuit, they liked meeting the fans and enjoyed each other’s company just as much. The thirty minute trip was very memorable.
News comes, via Jason – and subsequently a wave of UK outlets – of Kenny’s passing after a long illness. Despite needing to travel around by wheelchair in later years, he was still busy and happy attending events even earlier this summer and determined to continue.
Born in 1934, his parents were warned that he might not survive childhood, but Kenny was tenacious and exceeded all early expectations. He was approached at school-age to join a variety act and he never looked back, his career embracing over sixty years of performing in one form or another. As well as the iconic R2D2 (where he and Anthony Daniels – who played C3P0 – were the only actors to have roles in all seven main Star Wars films) heappeared in other classics such as Circus of Horrors, The Elephant Man, The Goonies, Amadeus, Labyrinth, Flash Gordon, ‘Dufflepud’ in Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and, of course, the sometimes over-looked Time Bandits.
Despite his diminutive size, he was a big presence, always willing to let his size (approximately 3ft 8 inches tall) be an asset rather than an obstacle.
