Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in all of the original Star Wars films (as well as in The Force Awakens), died on Tuesday, at age 74, at his home in north Texas.
ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!
He couldn’t hang in there for one more Star Wars Day. 
From what I read, he also played that roll in many children’s hospitals and charity events:)
RIP big man.
Han is going to be devastated. Those of us who read the books before the major ret-con know what I mean.
Can he get a medal now?
Oh my goodness. I can’t believe it.
I remember going to see the first Star Wars movie in 1977 with my then-boyfriend and just being dazzled by everything about it. We went back the next day and saw it again.
Did he also play Chewie in Episode 3?
He did, indeed.
I met Peter a few years ago, when he was a Guest of Honor at a gaming convention. By that point, he was using a cane, and seemed a bit frail, but he still came across with a quiet, good humor.
Peter had a gift for bringing Chewbacca to life. It never looked like a guy in a furry suit.
Star Wars wouldn’t be the same without Chewbacca. The scenes with Chewbacca helped make Han Solo more entertaining.
Thank you Peter for all the wonderful hours I’ve spent watching Star Wars.
[Mournful]Aaaooooourghrr… aourrr[/Mournful]
I met him several years ago at DragonCon, in Atlanta. I shook his hand, which seemed several times larger than mine, and thanked him for the decades of enjoyment Star Wars has given me. He replied, “That’s what it’s all about.”
RIP
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I’m curious, were Chewbacca’s vocalizations done in post production?
I seem to recall Peter did the physical movements of the character? Which he did very, very well. Chewbacca had a colorful personality that didn’t require understandable speech.
Sorry to see him go. Considering that he wasn’t an actor to start with (his only previous role had been the live-action scenes of “Minoton” in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger) he actually managed to convey quite a bit of feeling and emotion, even while dressed in a giant rug and without using any words. That’s impressive. I see from imdb that he managed to get quite a few non-Star Wars acting jobs afterwards, none of which I’ve seen.
All the plaudits have been citing his Star Wars movie roles, but not the "extras, like cameos as Chewbacca on TV shows and the like. And nobody has mentioned his appearance as Chewbacca in the Star Wars Holiday Special – Star Wars Holiday Special - Wikipedia
Tributes posted by the Star Wars cast.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/entertainment-arts-48142765
Could anyone else have brought such life to the role of Chewbacca?
RIP Peter. May the Force will with you always
Yes. In fact Peter had written dialogue that he spoke, so the conversations he has with Han are real, not just guessing or improvised.
As per the article on the character in Wookieepedia:
“The memorable voice of Chewbacca was designed by Ben Burtt, sound designer for all seven films. He mixed together various animal growls for different emotions, including those of walruses, bears, tigers, camels and badgers. The most prominent of these voices was a black bear named Tarik, who died of congestive heart failure in 1994.”
Ok, that refreshed my memory. I knew the Wookie sounds were a mix of animals. It’s been twenty years since I thought much about Star Wars. I didn’t watch the recent films.
Glad Peter did have dialogue. It helped him connect better with Harrison.
Doesn’t matter that it wasn’t used in the final cut.
Somewhere, up in Movie Star Heaven, Carrie Fisher is complaining about Peter Mayhew being in her way.
And feeling her up. 
Ever-so-slightly-NSFW picture:
