Kenny Baker (English actor)

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Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker convention.jpg
Baker at a science fiction convention,
12 February 2005
Born Kenneth George Baker
(1934-08-24)24 August 1934
Birmingham, England
Died 13 August 2016(2016-08-13) (aged 81)
Preston, Lancashire, England
Occupation Actor, musician
Years active 1960–2015
Spouse(s) Eileen Baker
(m. 1970; d. 1993)
Children 2

Kenneth George "Kenny" Baker (24 August 1934 – 13 August 2016) was an English actor and musician. He was best known for portraying the character R2-D2 in the highly successful Star Wars science fiction movie franchise.

Early life[edit]

Baker, who stood 3 ft 8 in (112 cm) tall, was born and educated in Birmingham, Warwickshire, and at boarding school in Kent. He was the son of Ethel, a pianist and dress maker, and Harold Baker, an artist, musician, and draftsman.[1] His parents were of average height.[2] He went to live with his father, stepmother and half-sister in Hastings, Sussex, and in 1951 was approached on the street by a woman who invited him to join a theatrical troupe of dwarves and midgets. This was his first taste of show business. Later, he joined a circus for a brief time, learned to ice skate and appeared in many ice shows. He had formed a successful comedy act called the Minitones with entertainer Jack Purvis when George Lucas hired him to be the man inside R2-D2 in Star Wars in 1976.[3]

Star Wars[edit]

Baker appears as R2-D2 in six of the episodic theatrical Star Wars films, and played an additional role in 1983's Return of the Jedi as Paploo, the Ewok who steals an Imperial speeder bike. He was originally going to play Wicket, but he fell ill and that role was handed over to Warwick Davis. Baker is featured on Justin Lee Collins's "Bring Back Star Wars". He revealed a feud between him and his co-star Anthony Daniels. He claimed Daniels had been rude to him on numerous occasions, and states that Daniels is rude to everyone, including fans.[4]

Baker continued his association with the character of R2-D2 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was released on 18 December 2015 in North America. He was going to be a member of the cast, but he served as consultant for R2 instead.[5] In November 2015 it was confirmed that Jimmy Vee was cast as R2-D2 in Star Wars: Episode VIII, replacing Baker.[6][7]

Other work[edit]

Baker's other films include The Elephant Man, Time Bandits (also with Jack Purvis), Willow (also with Purvis and Warwick Davis), Flash Gordon, Amadeus and Jim Henson's Labyrinth. On television, he appeared in the British medical drama Casualty. He also had a part in the BBC production of The Chronicles of Narnia. In the late 1990s, Baker launched a brief stand-up comedy career. He played Casanova in the 1993 movie U.F.O.. In November 2009, his biography, titled From Tiny Acorns: The Kenny Baker Story' was written with Ken Mills and Published by Writestuff Autographs ( Publishing ) - ISBN 978-0-9563819-0-3 The book is available as a 'Download ' and also personally signed copies are available through :- www.writestuffautographs.com[citation needed]

Personal life and death[edit]

Baker resided in Preston, Lancashire. He was married to actress Eileen Baker (who co-starred with him in the 1977 film Wombling Free) from 1970 until she died in 1993. Although Eileen also had dwarfism, this was not inherited by their two children.[8]

Baker had been invited to attend the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Los Angeles in December 2015, but was too ill to travel to the US.[9] Instead, Baker attended the film's premiere in London.[10] He later met up with George Lucas in Manchester.[9] Baker died on 13 August 2016, just eleven days before his 82nd birthday, following an extended illness.[9]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1960 Circus of Horrors Dwarf Uncredited
1962 Man of the World The Croat Episode: "Specialist for the Kill", credited as Ken Baker
1975 Dave Allen at Large Salesman Season 4, Episode 36
1977 Star Wars R2-D2
1977 Wombling Free Bungo
1978 Star Wars Holiday Special R2-D2 TV film, credited as R2-D2
1980 The Muppet Show R2-D2 Episode: "The Stars of Star Wars"
1980 The Empire Strikes Back R2-D2, GONK droid Credited; Uncredited
1980 Flash Gordon Dwarf
1980 The Elephant Man Plumed Dwarf
1981 Time Bandits Fidgit
1981 The Goodies Dwarf Episode: "Snow White 2"
1982 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Pick Pocket TV film
1983 Return of the Jedi R2-D2, Paploo
1984 The Adventure Game HRH The Rangdo of Arg 2 episodes
1984 Amadeus Parody Commendatore
1985 Der Rosenkavalier Baron Och's Retinue TV film
1986 Mona Lisa Brighton Busker
1986 Labyrinth Goblin Corps
1987 Star Tours R2-D2 Short film, uncredited
1987 Sleeping Beauty Elf
1988 Willow Nelwyn Band Member Uncredited
1989 Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader Dufflepud TV special
1990 Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie Invisible Demon Episode 5
1992 Casualty Archie Episode: "Act of Faith"
1993 U.F.O. Casanova
1999 The King and I Captain Orton Voice, credited as Ken Baker
1999 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace R2-D2
1999 Boobs in the Wood Bruce the Convict Direct-to-video
2002 24 Hour Party People Zookeeper Uncredited
2002 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones R2-D2
2002 The Cage Merlin Short film
2003 Swiss Toni Guyler Episode: "Cars Don't Make You Fat"
2005 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith R2-D2
2007 Casualty Charles Isaac Episode: "The Miracle on Harry's Last Shift"
2013 One Night at the Aristo The Bartender Voice, short film
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens R2-D2 Consultant, final film role.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Henry, David. "Kenny Baker, R2-D2 Actor in 'Star Wars' Films, Dies at 81". 
  2. ^ "Philadelphia Inquirer: Search Results". 
  3. ^ Arnold, Alan. Once Upon A Galaxy: A Journal of The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, Del Rey-Ballantine Books, New York, 1980, pp. 124-127.
  4. ^ Williams, Andrew (2005-05-19). "Kenny Baker". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 2009-01-28. 
  5. ^ "STAR WARS: EPISODE VII CAST ANNOUNCED". StarWars.com. April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014. 
  6. ^ Metro.co.uk, Cameron K. McEwan for (16 November 2015). "Doctor Who actor Jimmy Vee is the new R2-D2 in Star Wars Episode 8". 
  7. ^ "Little actor Jimmy Vee is Artoo-Detoo in Star Wars: Episode VIII?". 16 September 2015. 
  8. ^ "Ciaran Brown meets actor Kenny Baker". 
  9. ^ a b c "Kenny Baker, actor behind R2-D2, dies". The Guardian. 13 August 2016. 
  10. ^ Rottenberg, Josh (August 13, 2016). "Kenny Baker, 'Star Wars' actor who brought R2-D2 to life, dies at 81". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 

External links[edit]