STAR WARS CAST MEMORIES
AND NOTES FROM THE MEMORABILLIA SHOW AT THE NEC BIRMINGHAM-MARCH 29TH 2008
Compiled by Scott Weller and Ian Trussler
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| Jack Klaff as the doomed John D in STAR WARS. |
JACK KLAFF
Respected
stage and screen actor Klaff played the fight pilot John D. (as in John Doe)
for two days of filming in July 1976. According to the script, the pilot he
played was a veteran of many fighter missions. They (Lucas/the technicians)
asked him beforehand if he was okay about being blown up in the fighter cockpit
and after it happened they gave him a wet towel to put on his face to help him
acclimatize whilst getting out of the set. He recalls a modest Lucas quietly
thanking him for his work. Klaff was then asked by LUCASFILM to come back for
some extra filming a short time later, but, at the time, he was in numerous
Shakespearean theatre acting roles and wasn’t available.
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| Zuckuss has a sit down between bouts of bounty hunting! |
CATHERINE MUNROE
Yes,
the actress who played the legendary Zuckuss-she’s alive-she exists-she’s
real!!!
Coming
straight out of acting school, EMPIRE was one of her first film jobs and she
was the best fit for the costume of Bounty Hunter Zuckuss. The mask was very
heavy and attached on her almost like one of those ancient diving helmets,
which was clasped onto a neck section (like her fellow alien, Bossk’s, as worn
by Alan Harris). In the heavy costume, and being the only female actress to
inhabit one on the set, she had a personal helper who would assist her in
sitting down on a chair between takes (as can be seen in the classic black and
white image). After completing her four weeks at ELSTREE (most of the time
spent on the Star Destroyer Bridge-it took a long period to set up each part of
her filming with the other Bounty Hunters for that brief scene), she was asked
to come back for two weeks for some additional Bespin shooting and played a
female Mrs. Snaggletooth (the actor playing Mister Snaggletooth is unknown to
us), wearing a blue outfit, who can be seen very briefly in the
final film.
She
became very good friends with Chris Parsons as they were roughly the same age
and both very young, "we were only kids really" was her phrase. She
is still in contact with Chris Parsons and they remain friends. She recalled
how tight the security was on the EMPIRE set and that, although she has some
personal Polaroid shots of herself and some of the other background artists as
aliens on one of the Bespin Cloud City corridors, nobody was allowed to take
pictures of themselves on the actual sets.
She
had done a little TV work before doing EMPIRE (including a part in the 1979
DOCTOR WHO story THE HORNS OF NIMON, playing a sacrificial victim alongside
BLUE PETER presenter to be Janet Ellis). Sadly, unlike Chris Parsons, she
didn’t get a chance to play any parts in RETURN OF THE JEDI.
When
asked why she has been rarely seen at fan events/conventions (she has appeared
at one Japanese event (which she thoroughly enjoyed and was overwhelmed by the
friendliness and emotions of the fans there), and at least two signings in the
UK), she explained that fans have had difficulty finding her due to her name
Catherine Munroe having changed to Katy Jarrett.
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