David Prowse, the champion English weightlifter and bodybuilder who supplied his 6-foot-7 frame — but not the voice or the deep breathing — to portray Darth Vader in the originalStar Warstrilogy, died early Saturday morning following a short illness.
He was 85. Prowse's death was confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by his agent Thomas Bowington. Bowington Management also shared the news on Twitter, announcing his passing with "great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and million of fans around the world." Appropriately, the strapping Prowse also portrayed the Frankenstein monster in three movies: the James Bond spoofCasino Royale(1967) and, for Hammer Films,The Horror of Frankenstein(1970) andFrankensteinand the Monster From.
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