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| No fan of Darth Vader, Admiral Motti feels the Sith Lord's wrath! |
The sad news has come through that Richard LeParmentier-who played Admiral Motti with evil relish and conviction in the original STAR WARS- has suddenly passed away at the age of 67. An enthusiastic veteran of many worldwide STAR WARS conventions, he was a funny and witty raconteur of his acting life and career, not just working on the classic George Lucas film, but other various fantasy favourites made in England in which he made memorable appearances, including the James Bond adventure OCTOPUSSY (alongside ESB's Bruce Boa), SUPERMAN II and ROLLERBALL. On the Man of Steel front, he was married to that icon's sexy screen villainess, Sarah Douglas, for a period, and appeared in one of her other fantasy films: THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT.
Star Wars Episode IV: "I find your lack of faith disturbing" - YouTube
The first person to on-screen survive a mighty force-choke from Darth Vader, LeParmentier carefully choreographed his iconic scene and was able to control/flex his neck muscles for the moment when the Dark Side of the Force closed in on him. The actor was flattered and enthused to be a part of STAR WARS immense fandom, especially with the films renewed popularity with the release of the SPECIAL EDITIONS in the nineties onwards, and enjoyed his eventual HASBRO action figure with choking motion-often having one on his autograph table when happily meeting and signing for fans.
Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends at this tragic time. He will be much missed, though his fine contributions to film and TV, and especially STAR WARS, will live on.
Image composition by Chris Baker.
May the be with you ....always.
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