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All
of you know of the Star Wars films but apart from the die-hard fans,
how many of you know the name Stuart Freeborn?
You
may not have heard of him, but you will have seen many of his creations....
Chewbacca, Jabba the Hut, the Ewoks and of course, the green, pointy-eared,
Jedi cutey, Yoda.
Freeborn first became interested in theatrical makeup whilst at
school but didn't take up the career professionally until after
a period in the army.
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Stuart
Freeborn -
The real Jedi Master! |
Whilst
learning, he used to practice by making himself up, and it was not
unusual for characters such as Frankenstein (aka Stuart) to be seen
clumping down the street.
Or,
in one memorable instance, the Emperor Haile Selassie, which lead
to Stuart being temporarily detained for questioning by the local
police, who wanted to know how a foreign dignitary could be in the
UK unbeknown to authorities!
He
fast became a leader in his field and along with his wife Kathy
and their son Graham, changed the perception and techniques of special
effects make-up for ever.
In
1980, George Lucas approached Stuart and asked him to create a little
character called Yoda for a new film he was making.
Stuart
had worked for George before, on the first Star Wars film, after
Lucas had seen the life-like monkeys Stuart had created for 2001:
A Space Oddessey.
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| Einstein's
features were added to give Yoda intelligence... |
Freeborn
was not impressed with Lucas' latest script but took on the challenge
and begun his initial model of Yoda.
He
decided to make a model of his own face and, as he wanted Yoda to
look intelligent, he added a wrinkled cast of Albert Einstein for
good measure...
George
Lucas loved the end result and one of the most popular characters
in the space saga was born.
And
Stewart? Well, after a hugely successful career, he settled down
in Cranleigh, where at 90 years old, he (and Yoda of course) enjoy
a happy retirement!
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