Toby Philpott was one of the puppeteers who worked inside of Jabba the Hutt back in 1982 for a few weeks. His job was to control some of Jabba’s head, left arm, and tongue. Mike Edmonds, David Barclay, and John Coppinger (who was outside the costume, remotely controlling the eyes) rounded out the gang whose job was to make the audience believe that this slug of a puppet was real. The eclectic group pulled off the task with great success. Toby started out in the 1970’s as a street performer, fringe theater performer, and circus performer doing everything from acrobatics to fire eating to juggling to magic to unicycling and more. He moved on to film work through his contacts in the entertainment industry and worked on such great films as The Dark Crystal, The Company of Wolves, Labyrinth, Little Shop of Horrors, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and of course Return of the Jedi. He currently lives a peaceful life in England, working for his local library in the IT department and attends the occasional Sci-Fi convention as a guest when time permits, signing autographs and meeting numerous fans of the films he’s worked on. (Original posting: July 29, 2003)
Tag: richard marquand
Interview with Dave Prowse
(Original posting: June 01, 1998)
“Hemorrhoids don’t concern me, Admiral…” That was something Dave Prowse said to me at a party after a sci-fi convention in the 1990s. He was telling me a story about how, on the set of The Empire Strikes Back, they couldn’t hear him very well as he spoke his lines inside the Darth Vader helmet. Everyone knew they would be dubbed later, so Dave thought he’d at least have a little fun with it and get a rise out of the cast and crew, replacing the word asteroids with something funnier. That should give you some insight as to the kind of guy Dave was.
I had the honor of giving Dave his very first website presence. He had put out the call to a few fans and somehow I ended up with the gig. From that day on, he treated me with the respect and dignity of a friend, and not just a person from whom he needed something. We spoke, interviewed, shared pictures, met at conventions, had dinners, and just talked and talked about everything. I met and became friends with his then manager Maxwell Patterson, who was also the loveliest of guys. We made a great little team. The site eventually moved on to someone a little closer to Dave in the UK and I was happy to hand them the keys. Dave thanked me over and over for the hard work and I never forgot it.
There will never be a more iconic moment for me in cinematic history than when Darth Vader first emerged through that smoky door in the original Star Wars film. If you’ve ever spoken to him, you know that he was also very proud of his roles in the Hammer horror films, A Clockwork Orange, and various other BBC shows, not to mention his bodybuilding career and his important role as the Green Cross Code Man, helping little kids cross the roads safely.
On November 28, 2020, Dave Prowse passed away. To him I say thank you for that villainous swagger and the ominous presence you brought to Darth Vader that’s been so important to all of us over the years. You will be missed.
(Original posting: June 01, 1998. This intro has been updated to account for Dave Prowse’s passing on November 28, 2020.)