It has been confirmed that Bob Anderson passed away peacefully yesterday in hospital
The British Academy of Fencing reports. He was 89. He's best known for his work as a sword master or trainer on
The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the original
Star Wars movies,
Highlander,
The Three Musketeers,
The Legend of Zorro,
Die Another Day and many, many more (including
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey).
Digital Spy point out a 1983 interview with Mark Hamill in which he revealed that it was Anderson who was in the Darth Vader costume during
A New Hope,
The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi's lightsabre battles, not David Prowse.
"Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader's fighting. It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told [George Lucas] I didn't think it was fair anymore. Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It's ridiculous to preserve the myth that it's all done by one man."