46 Facts About David Prowse

David Charles Prowse was an English actor, bodybuilder, strongman and weightlifter.

David Prowse portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy and a manservant in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange.

In 2015, he starred in two documentaries concerning his Darth Vader role, one titled The Force's Mouth, which included Prowse voicing Darth Vader's lines with studio effects applied for the first time, and the other titled I Am Your Father, covering the subject of the fallout between Prowse and Lucasfilm.

David Charles Prowse was born on 1 July 1935 in Bristol, England.

David Prowse was the son of Gladys and Charles Prowse.

David Prowse helped to train Christopher Reeve for the lead role in Superman after lobbying for the part himself.

David Prowse trained Cary Elwes for his role as Westley in The Princess Bride.

Notably, Arnold Schwarzenegger sometimes trained at David Prowse's gym and the British bodybuilder was a judge at the last Mr Universe contest Schwarzenegger won.

David Prowse's first appearance is a brief cameo in a gym as a weightlifter in the 1968 TV show The Champions: the opening sequence of episode 2 "The Invisible Man".

David Prowse made an appearance as henchman Tony in the 1969 TV show The Saint starring Roger Moore.

David Prowse had a role as Frank Alexander's manservant, Julian, in the film A Clockwork Orange, in which he was noticed by the future Star Wars director George Lucas.

David Prowse played a circus strongman in Vampire Circus, a Minotaur in the Doctor Who serial The Time Monster, and an android named Coppin in The Tomorrow People in 1973.

David Prowse appeared in an episode of Space: 1999, "The Beta Cloud", right before he was cast as Darth Vader.

David Prowse claimed that he nearly got the role of Jaws in James Bond and was offered the part of Conan the Barbarian before Arnold Schwarzenegger.

David Prowse had a small role as Hotblack Desiato's bodyguard in the 1981 BBC TV adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

David Prowse appeared in the first series of Ace of Wands on LWT and as a bodyguard in Callan, a feature film version of the TV series, as well as the character Wellington in one episode of the TV series.

David Prowse played Charles, the duke's wrestler, in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of As You Like It in 1978.

David Prowse played Frankenstein's monster in three films, Casino Royale and the Hammer horrors The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell.

David Prowse made two uncredited appearances on The Benny Hill Show.

David Prowse played the physical form of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.

David Prowse spoke the dialogue during filming, but George Lucas wanted a "darker voice" than David Prowse's relatively jovial West Country accent, and had James Earl Jones provide a more sinister, malevolent voice for the character.

David Prowse stated he was originally told he would be seen and heard at the end of Return of the Jedi when Vader's mask was removed.

David Prowse brought a physicality to Darth Vader that was essential for the character.

David Prowse made Vader leap off the page and on to the big screen, with an imposing stature and movement performance to match the intensity and undercurrent of Vader's presence.

David Prowse was up for anything and contributed to the success of what would become a memorable, tragic figure.

David Prowse felt sidelined by Anderson during the making of Return of the Jedi in particular, and said he was only able to persuade director Richard Marquand that he should be the one to throw Emperor Palpatine down the shaft after Marquand had tried and failed for a week to film the scene successfully without him.

David Prowse reprised his role of Darth Vader for the video games Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game and Monopoly Star Wars.

In 1977, David Prowse appeared as a contestant on the syndicated version of the game show To Tell The Truth, hosted by Joe Garagiola.

In 2002, David Prowse became an honorary member and honorary leader of the 501st Legion, a fan group dedicated to Star Wars costuming.

David Prowse continued to associate himself with his role in the Star Wars films and was involved in the convention circuit.

In July 2007, David Prowse joined many others from the Star Wars films for the first ever Star Wars Celebration event held outside the United States.

David Prowse had previously suggested that Darth Vader could be Luke Skywalker's father in a speech he gave to University of California, Berkeley, in 1978.

In July 2010, David Prowse was banned by Lucas from attending official Star Wars fan conventions.

In 2011, David Prowse wrote and released his autobiography Straight from the Force's Mouth.

David Prowse became friends with Welsh musician Jayce Lewis when the latter was a teenager, after they met at a science fiction convention.

At the convention, Lewis recalled learning that David Prowse's son, whom he later met after a performance, was a drummer.

David Prowse was featured in the music video for "Shields" on the album Orderart.

David Prowse married Norma Scammell in 1963 and was the father of three children.

David Prowse lived in Addiscombe, Croydon, in Surrey from 1963.

David Prowse worked with multiple arthritis organisations in Britain and was vice-president of the Physically Handicapped and Able-bodied Association.

In March 2009, David Prowse revealed that he was suffering from prostate cancer.

David Prowse underwent radiation therapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in South London.

David Prowse denied this, but admitted that he had problems with his memory, which he put down to age.

In late 2017, David Prowse retired from all public appearances and events, due to ill health and the wishes of his family.

David Prowse died at a hospital in London, England, on 28 November 2020, aged 85.

David Prowse was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to charity and road safety at the New Year Honours in 2000.