R2-D2 Makes a Sad Sound: RIP Kenny Baker

Kenny Baker, actor behind R2-D2, dies

Actor Kenny Baker, made famous for playing R2-D2 in six Star Wars movies, died. He was 83 and according to the article in The Guardian, he had been sick for a long time. Baker also appeared in Flash Gordon, Time Bandits and The Goonies.

 

RIP to an unsung hero.

 

Cue the "Game Over" sound effect.

 

Had no idea he was in Goonies, and just IMDB'd him. Looks like it was "The Goodies," a British TV show.

RIP to the little droid that could.

 

RIP. The galaxy won't be the same without him.
Kenny Baker, the Actor Who Brought R2-D2 to Life, Passes Away | StarWars.com

 

It'll be interesting to heard the reaction of Anthony "C3PO" Daniels to Baker's passing. I heard those two didn't get along very well.

 

'He might as well be a bucket': a history of the feud between C-3PO's Anthony Daniels and R2D2's Kenny Baker

 

He was a lovable actor, sad to hear he was sick.

That said, it's kind of interesting to see how much credit for R2-D2's popularity Kenny Baker receives. I think Lucas said he put the heart and soul into R2-D2. I mean, didn't he just rotate the dome? He's the one who had to put up with sitting in the uncomfortable bucket in sweltering heat, but realistically, it seems to me the sound artists who "voiced" R2-D2 are the ones who gave him "soul."

 

Looks like, at least publicly, he took the high road:

 

I think he also made R2-D2 wobble, when the droid would move on two legs rather than roll on three, but I had the same thought.