Author: Chris Snelgrove Published
Most autographs don’t have much of a story about the celebrity signing them. Sure, it’s a moment you’ll tell your friends about for the rest of your life, but for the big-name performers at the local casino, it’s just another weekend afternoon in the off-season. Yet the man behind one of the most famous Star Wars characters has a wild signature story, one that’s both sad and malicious. David Prowse wears the Vader suit, but is voiced by James Earl Jones, who is so angry that he writes “David Prowse is Darth Vader” on most of his signatures.
David Prowse is Darth Vader
To understand why the Star Wars icon is so vicious about his signature, you need to understand the history of the feud between the late, great David Prowse and George Lucas. It all started with the original Star Wars movies. Prowse was a tall bodybuilder who was hired because his impressive physique made him perfect for the role of Vader. However, his voice wasn’t really a good fit: The late Carrie Fisher once revealed that actors nicknamed Prowse “Darth Farmer” because of his British country accent, while Lucas hired James Earl Jones re-dubbed all of Vader’s lines.
The unexpected re-dubbing of his famous character may not have been enough to ruin the relationship between the two, but it was an incident in 1978 that really drove a wedge between Prowse and Lucas. Routh, who was signing autographs with other Star Wars actors, revealed that his character is actually Luke Skywalker’s father. In fact, empire strikes back It’s not finished yet, so everyone’s favorite screen robot is talking from his exhaust vent. He just happened to accurately predict what a movie would be mentioned later.
to the end of the year empire strikes backLuke isn’t sure if Vader is really his father, or if this is a weird dark side ploy meant to emotionally manipulate him. Jedi Counterattack It was confirmed who Luke’s father was, but a year before the film was released, the big news was spoiled for fans by a British tabloid. Lucas always blamed Prowse for leaks due to previous incidents, and the results were swift and brutal: Prowse was ostracized during filming and was raped by Sebastian during a nude scene in Vader Shaw was replaced and banned from official Star Wars conventions until 2010.
You could say Prowse had the last laugh, though. The temporary ban from official Star Wars conventions hasn’t stopped him from appearing at other Comic-Con-style events around the world, signing autographs for legions of fans. He made sure every signature was a statement about himself: “David Prowse is Darth Vader.” Some took that as a slight on James Earl Jones, but we think it was the actor’s reminder a way of achieving what he achieved in a series from which he was increasingly alienated.
Obviously, this Star Wars tale of sadness and malicious signatures isn’t a feel-good story, but we think it helps us remember some important things about the series. When a movie or TV show in a galaxy far, far away crashes and burns, fans tend to single out a single creator (like George Lucas, Dave Filoni, or Rian Johnson), but the truth is, it takes a team Creators can bring our favorite stories to life. Celebrating Star Wars is part of celebrating all the movies that have always brought so much joy to fans.
David Prowse played one of the most important roles early on in the series, and we can only hope that his surviving family members know that we don’t need a signature to remind us of a simple and profound truth: now and forever, David Prowse It’s Darth Vader.
Source: Mashable
