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David Prowse

ACTOR · BORN 1935 · DIED 2020

David Prowse

Born
1 July 1935
Died
29 November 2020
Known for
Return of the Jedi (1983), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), Horror of Frankenstein (1970), A Clockwork Orange (1971)

21 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

David Prowse (1 July 1935 – 29 November 2020) was an actor best known for Return of the Jedi, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell and Horror of Frankenstein.

21 Interesting Facts About David Prowse

Interesting Facts (7)

  1. #001

    Because he kept breaking the poles used in the lightsaber scenes of the first 'Star Wars,' Prowse was kept out of the duels in the next two films; swordsman Bob Anderson, who also choreographed them, took over, wearing platform shoes to make up the height difference and generally filmed from low angles, so the acrobatic moves in Vader's lightsaber fights are Anderson's, not Prowse's.

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  2. #002

    Of the directors he worked with on the original 'Star Wars' trilogy, Prowse liked Irvin Kershner of 'The Empire Strikes Back' best, saying in an interview that he was extremely helpful and supportive to the actors.

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  3. #003

    Prowse is the only actor to have played Frankenstein's Monster in two different Hammer films, 'The Horror of Frankenstein' (1970) and 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell' (1974).

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  4. #004

    In 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971), Prowse played the bodyguard of Patrick Magee's wheelchair-bound character, landing the part because he could lift and carry Magee; he recalled that Stanley Kubrick was no 'one-take' director, so he had to repeat the scene over and over, and when a sound technician noticed a strange noise during filming, it turned out to be Prowse's heartbeat picked up by his microphone.

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  5. #005

    Prowse played the Green Cross Code Man, the face of a UK government road safety campaign teaching children how to cross the road, who reached millions of kids through TV ads in the 1970s and 1980s and became his best-known role after Darth Vader.

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  6. #006

    Before retiring from public appearances at 83, Prowse attended Star Wars, sci-fi and autograph conventions, signing for fans for eight hours straight and claiming he never took a toilet or meal break, a dedication that made him a legend on the convention circuit.

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  7. #007

    Prowse attended Collectormania 7 in Milton Keynes, England, a collectors' fair where actors met fans and signed autographs.

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Behind the Scenes (3)

  1. #008

    With Sebastian Shaw being shown as the face behind Darth Vader's mask in 'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi', Vader became the first recurring character in cinema history to be played by three different actors at once. In this three-way division of labor, Prowse represented the body, James Earl Jones the voice and Sebastian Shaw the face. This created a unique example of how different talents came together in the creation of the character.

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  2. #009

    Prowse appeared as a strongman in the famous 'Wishing Well' sketch that opened the first season of 'The Benny Hill Show'. This sketch was used by the programme's American syndication to promote it to television stations in the US.

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  3. #010

    Prowse announced that he was retiring from acting and public appearances due to his deteriorating health. This retirement was initially planned to take effect in January 2018, but on his doctors' advice he brought the decision forward to November 2017. This sudden withdrawal was a sad development for his fans and the film world.

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Characters & Cast (4)

  1. #011

    Prowse trained Christopher Reeve for 'Superman' (1978), putting his bodybuilding and strength expertise to work in getting Reeve in shape for the role.

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  2. #012

    Prowse complained in an interview that he hadn't received enough credit for his work as Darth Vader, feeling his contribution had been overlooked, not least because another actor dubbed his voice.

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  3. #013

    In 'Casino Royale' (1967), Prowse played a character known only as 'The Master,' who looks like Frankenstein's Creature and is on screen for just a few seconds; the name appears neither in the dialogue nor in the credits.

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  4. #014

    In 1983, shortly before 'Return of the Jedi' opened, Britain's Daily Mail ran an article hinting at Vader's fate, and since another actor had replaced Prowse for the unmasking scene, he was suspected of leaking it; he always denied it, as he didn't know the overall plot, and a 2015 documentary revealed the real source was an unnamed crew member.

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Career & Awards (4)

  1. #015

    Despite his worldwide fame as Darth Vader, Prowse often said the Green Cross Code Man, from a public information campaign teaching UK children road safety, was the role he was proudest of, because it directly helped people.

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  2. #016

    In 2000, Prowse was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Millennium Honours List for his services to charity and road safety, above all as the Green Cross Code Man.

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  3. #017

    In the early 1960s, Prowse entered the Mister Universe bodybuilding championship but was disqualified at the start because of his unattractive, shapeless bare feet, a disappointment that helped steer him toward film.

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  4. #018

    In 1968, Prowse appeared in a Tonka toy commercial directed by Sir Ridley Scott, one of the rare jobs in which his own voice was used, since it was dubbed in most of his work.

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Life & Family (3)

  1. #019

    For years, David Prowse, Darth Vader's body, and James Earl Jones, his voice, never met, something Prowse often mentioned at conventions in his later years, until he announced that they finally met in 2012.

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  2. #020

    Prowse admitted in an interview that he only discovered his voice had been replaced with James Earl Jones's on the opening night of 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,' seeing the finished film along with the audience, a striking example of the production's secrecy and poor communication with the cast.

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  3. #021

    The DVD of the 'Star Wars' making-of documentary includes three clips of Prowse delivering Darth Vader's lines in his own voice, rare footage of how he played the character on set.

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Related pages

Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

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