Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew has paid tribute to his friend and Star Wars co-star Kenny Baker, who died at the weekend at the age of 81.
“I know I’m a bit late with this, but my sadness is profound,” Mayhew wrote on his website. “No words seemed adequate to convey what we… have lost with the passing of my dear friend Kenny Baker.” Baker played the droid R2-D2 in the first six Star Wars films and formed a close friendship with Mayhew.
‘Giant heart’
“Kenny and I became fast friends the first time we met and formed a lifelong bond after realising that we had so much in common,” Mayhew said. Many had passed comment about the pair’s contrasting heights over the years – Baker stood at 3ft 8in (1.12m), while Mayhew is 7ft 2in (2.18m).
