Peter Mayhew has passed away. From his official twitter:
The family of Peter Mayhew, with deep love and sadness, regrets to share the news that Peter has passed away. He left us the evening of April 30, 2019 with his family by his side in his North Texas home. pic.twitter.com/YZ5VLyuK0u
— Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) May 2, 2019
He was 74. As everyone knows, he WAS Chewbacca. I will say the new guy is great as Chewie but Peter set the template. He was a jovial giant that never saw a ton of mainstream success as an actor but was always ready to put on the suit and play Chewie at children’s hospitals and other charities.
We’ll miss him. Good bye Pete.