Name: Kenny

Surname: Baker



Kenny George Baker (Birmingham, 24 August 1934 – Manchester, 13 August 2016) was a British actor. He was famous for his role as R2-D2 (or C1-P8 in the Italian version) in the Star Wars saga, by director George Lucas. When Lucas hired him to play the part of R2-D2 Baker was working as an entertainer at the circus and cabaret with animator Jack Purvis. Baker, 112 cm tall, appears, in fact, in 6 of the 9 films of the saga, as in the third episode of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, he did not take part in the filming of the film for health reasons but Lucas still wanted to include it in the credits. In Return of the Jedi, in addition to the role of the little droid, he also plays the Ewok Paploo. He was supposed to play another Ewok, Wicket W. Warrick, but couldn't because he was ill on the day of filming, and was replaced by Warwick Davis [1]. Baker is again credited as R2-D2 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (this time as a consultant), without ever physically taking part in the filming. The film directed by J. J. Abrams was released in theaters in December 2015. He also appears in other films, such as The Elephant Man, Time Bandits (with Jack Purvis), Amadeus, Labyrinth, Sleeping Beauty and Willow. In the late 1990s, Baker embarked on a brief career in the theater, starring in a few comedies. He also occasionally tried his hand as a musician. In July 1997, for example, he played harmonica with the James Coutts Scottish Dance Band. With his wife Eileen (married in 1970) he had two sons: Christopher and Kevin. His wife later died in 1993 from a blood clot. He died on 13 August 2016 in Manchester after a long illness



Autograph Type: Autographed Photo