A-Z of Famous Bristolians – D: David Prowse

A-Z of Famous Bristolians – D: David Prowse

Posted on: 15 Feb 2024

Next up on our A – Z of famous Bristolians is the late David Prowse MBE, the towering figure behind the iconic Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.

 

Last time we focused on the controversial slave trade investor, merchant and philanthropist Edward Colston, but this week we’re focusing on a proud Bristolian actor, bodybuilder, strongman and weightlifter who physicalised one of cinema’s most notorious villains…

 

 

David Prowse was born on 1 July 1935 and was raised by his mother in Southmead before gaining a scholarship at Bristol Grammar School. Always a big lad – he towered over his compatriots at 6’6” – it was while at BGS that Prowse became interested in bodybuilding, a hobby that soon turned into an obsession.

 

Far removed from his future work in show business, Prowse worked as a bouncer for a dance hall at Henleaze Swimming Pool, where he also met his future wife, Norma. Throughout the 1960s, David represented Britain in the British Heavyweight Lifting Championship, as well as the Commonwealth Games in Australia, he moved to London in 1963 – the same year he married Norma.

 

His success in the world of bodybuilding – he was the first ever person to lift Aberdeenshire’s Dinnie Stone - led him to become friends with acting legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Throughout the '70s and '80s (after he stepped into showbiz), Prowse helped train actors for various legendary roles, including Christopher Reeve for Superman in 1978 – a part that he auditioned for himself – and, later, Cary Elwes for The Princess Bride.

 

 

Prowse appeared onscreen in the 1967 James Bond parody Casino Royal and became well known throughout the UK as the Green Cross Man, a long-running road safety campaign. He was immensely proud of this work and wrote about it in the Guardian in 2014, saying:

 

“Many people will know me for being the ultimate screen villain, Star Wars’ Darth Vader. But being a “goodie goodie” and heading up the Green Cross Code campaign, helping to save thousands of lives has always been the ultimate honour.”

 

While he appeared in various films throughout the 70s, it was his role as a servant in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971) that caught the attention of Star Wars director George Lucas - who offered him either the role of Vader or of Chewbacca. While taking on the physical form of Darth Vader etched Prowse’s name into the cinematic history books, his relationship with the franchise – during and after production – was complicated.

 

 

While he was seen as the perfect Vader physically and spoke the character’s dialogue (see above) while filming his Bristolian accent was not the liking of Lucas, with James Earl Jones’ now celebrated sinister voice favoured. According to legend, Prowse was told by Lucas that he would be voicing the villain! Another actor was also used in Return of the Jedi when Vader was eventually unmasked and, due to Prowse’s tendency to break lightsabers, his fight scenes were conducted by a stuntman.

 

As a vital figure in the Star Wars story and in pop culture in general, Prowse was a regular on the fan circuit, dropping by conventions all over the world for more than forty years. However, a rumoured rift with Lucas saw the Bristolian banned from official Star Wars events in 2010.

 

From playing Sci-Fi’s most villainous creation to bodybuilding to, helping children to cross the road safely, David Prowse was a larger-than-life (literally) showbiz character who – on top of his previously mentioned achievements – almost got the role of Jaws in James Bond, appeared on The Benny Hill Show and performed under the name ‘Jack The Ripper’, ripping apart phone books onstage.

 

After a vibrant and colourful career, David Prowse passed away on 28 November 2020, aged 85. See his Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill’s heartfelt tribute below….

 

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.