David Prowse
| Name: | David Charles Prowse MBE |
| Also Known As: | Dave Prowse, David Prowse |
| Occupation: | actor, bodybuilder, entrepreneur, fitness consultant, personal trainer, and weightlifter |
| Medium: | |
| Works: | |
| Official Website(s): | |
| Fan Website(s): | |
| On Fanlore: | Related pages |
David Prowse (July 1, 1935 – November 28, 2020) was an English actor from Bristol who portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.[1] On screen, Prowse's face was always hidden by a mask while performing Darth Vader, and many fans started to wonder what the Sith lord actually looked liked.
Although the Dark Lord of the Sith was probably his best internationally known and most fannish role, Prowse was involved in various fandoms during his long and varied career. He played Frankenstein's monster in three movies and appeared in TV shows like Doctor Who, Space 1999, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
David Prowse helped to train actor Christopher Reeve for his title role in the film Superman (1978) and also trained Cary Elwes for his role as Westley in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride.
Prowse became an honorary member and honorary leader of 501st Legion, a fan group dedicated to Star Wars costuming, in 2002.[2]
Green Cross Man
Green Cross Man is a fictional costumed Superhero character created in the 1970s in Great Britain. The character's task was to educate pedestrians, especially children and young adults, on how to cross UK roads safely. David Prowse played the character from 1975 to 1990 in a series of educational films and returned to the role in 2014 for two adverts.[3]
On July 18, 2021, tunglo wrote on tumblr:
Green Cross Man reduced the annual number of injuries sustained by children on UK roads by 50% - aka 20,000 cases - by the end of the campaign. Dave Prowse was doing up to three school visits a day at its height and even released a single for ROSPA [4] with Don Estelle.[5]
My fave write up is from the British Comics Wiki which describes him as ‘Green Cross Man alias Darth Vader; Weapons: Common Sense; Weaknesses: Dress Sense.’ xD [6]
For services to charity and road safety, Prowse was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) [7] at the New Year Honours [8] in 2000.
Star Wars
Fallout With Lucasfilm
Although Prowse had been a regular and popular guest of honour on Star Wars conventions ever since the first movie was released in 1977, he was banned by George Lucas from attending official Star Wars fan conventions in July 2010. The reasons for this step have never been made quite clear by Lucas.[9][10]
Fandom
Fanworks
- A new path, Archived version is a ficlet by Bl4ckHunter dedicated to the memory of David Prowse (November 29, 2020)
- The Monster From Hell, Archived version Frankenstein's monster as portrayed by David Prowse. Art by Art Adams, posted by chernobog13 on tumblr (March 16, 2022)
- Superman And Darth Vader Were Gym Buddies, Archived version by Vizrecon on tumblr (April 7, 2022)
Fannish Activities
Archives & Resources
- David Prowse tag on the Ao3
- David Prowse on the IMDb
- R.I.P. David Prowse, Archived version orbituary by travalanche (November 28, 2020)
- Wikipedia:David Prowse
References
- ^ The character was voiced by James Earl Jones
- ^ See: Wikipedia:501st Legion
- ^ See: Wikipedia:Green Cross Code
- ^ See: Wikipedia:Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
- ^ See: Wikipedia:Don Estelle
- ^ See: tunglo on tumblr (July 18, 2021), Archived version
- ^ See: Wikipedia:Order of the British Empire
- ^ See: Wikipedia:New Year Honours
- ^ See: David Prowse banned from all Lucasfilm-related Star Wars events (AV CLUB, July 19, 2010)
- ^ See: Darth Vader actor David Prowse banned for 'annoying' director George Lucas (The Telegraph, December 26, 2010)