Remembering Bob Anderson

Among the names most associated with having played Darth Vader:  David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Sebastian Shaw and Hayden Christensen, one name is often strangely left out when discussing the making of the Star Wars films, and that name would be Bob Anderson.  The reason it's so strange is that while Prowse had the imposing height, Jones had the terrifying voice, and Shaw and Christensen had the whole Anakin Skywalker thing going on, Anderson played Vader during some of his coolest scenes:  when he had to handle a lightsaber.

Anderson, who died yesterday at the age of 89, was a fencing master who competed for Britain in the 1952 Olympics (he tied for 5th place in a sabre event).  That same year, he coached Errol Flynn for his swordfighting scenes in The Master of Ballantrae.  He joined the Star Wars saga during the filming of The Empire Strikes Back to double for David Prowse in some of the more complicated lightsaber fighting scenes...even though there was a slight height difference between the two actors.  Anderson played Vader during most of the lightsaber scenes in both Empire and Return of the Jedi.

Out of respect for Prowse's performance, George Lucas decided to keep Anderson's involvment in the films a secret...which lasted until Mark Hamill gave Anderson due credit for his lightsaber badassery during an interview with Starlog Magazine in 1983:

"Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader's fighting. It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George I didn't think it was fair any more. Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It's ridiculous to preserve the myth that it's all done by one man."

After Return of the Jedi, Anderson continued to have a long and incredibly impressive career.  Other films he worked on included The Princess Bride, Die Another Day (his James Bond history goes back further than that - he also worked with Sean Connery on From Russia With Love), First Knight, The Mask of Zorro, The Three Musketeers (1993), Highlander, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, The Legend of Zorro, as well as all three Lord of the Rings films.  He also worked on the upcoming big-screen version of The Hobbit. 

In the 2009 documentary Reclaiming the Blade, Viggo Mortensen recalls working with Anderson on the fight scenes for Lord of the Rings:

His passing is definitely a huge loss for swashbuckling movie fans everywhere, but his work will certainly not be forgotten anytime soon.  Rest in peace, Bob.  And thanks again to Mark Hamill for making sure we all knew who was in the first place.