Who was Peter Mayhew, how tall was the Chewbacca actor and how old was he in Star Wars?
He is most recognised for portraying a 200-year-old Wookiee
PETER Mayhew, the man behind iconic Star Wars character Chewbacca, died of a heart attack in April, 2019.
But aside from playing the role for a whopping five films, what else is there to know about the English-American actor and his Hollywood career?
Who was Peter Mayhew?
Peter Mayhew was an English-American actor, who landed the role of Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise.
He made his debut as the tall, hirsute biped and intelligent 200-year-old Wookiee in 1977 and continued to play the character up until 2015’s The Force Awakens.
Soon after the 2015 movie's release, Peter announced his retirement from acting.
Despite Chewbacca being the character he is most recognised for, Peter had played various roles on the big screen following the success of Star Wars.
He played a mechanic in Terror before landing the a recurring role of The Tall Knight in the 1981 Dark Towers series.
Peter made countless amount of cameos on TV programmes and chat shows, wearing his famous Chewbacca costume, such as The Muppet Show and Glee.
To say that the character was beloved would be quite the understatement.
His last movie role came in 2016 when he played Uncle Clyde in the horror flick Killer Ink.
How tall was he?
Peter Mayhew was 7 feet 3 inches tall.
He often referred to himself as a giant in interviews, but he was always quick to shut down claims he suffered from a condition called giantism.
The excessive growth process due to a hormonal imbalance was not the case for Peter, however, who stressed that he had an overactive pituitary gland.
It would cause him to grow much faster than the people around him.
He said “I don’t have the big head. There was an overactive pituitary gland. I had treatment when I was about 15 that slowed it down, they stopped it.”
Had he not had the treatment, Peter said he would have easily towered above 8 FEET in height.
How old was Peter in Star Wars?
Peter, who was born in Barnes, London, on May 19, 1944, was 31 years old when he was cast as Chewbacca in the Star Wars series.
He played the character all the way until the age of 70 in 2015’s The Force Awakens before announcing his retirement in 2017.
Peter starred in the original three Star Wars films, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
He also appeared in Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
In 2018, Peter underwent several surgeries as his health continued to derail, having used the assistance of a wheelchair to get by during his final years.
Though the procedures helped his mobility, his condition was still frail.
When did Peter die?
And on April 30, 2019, Peter died of a heart attack at his home in Boyd, Texas, United States.
The family issued a statement saying there will be a memorial service on June 29.
They added that in early December in Los Angeles there will be a memorial for fans set up with his family in attendance, personal effects and collection at EmpireConLA.