RIP Bob Anderson, Master of the Lightsaber

Everyone knows that Darth Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones and acted by David Prowse; fewer realize that The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi also featured an actual sword fighter for the lightsaber scenes.

That man was Bob Anderson, a British fencer, who has died today at 89. From the obituary:

"David Prowse wasn't very good with a sword and Bob couldn't get him to do the moves," said Anderson's former assistant, Leon Hill. "Fortunately Bob could just don the costume and do it himself."

The scenes worked beautifully, although Anderson, then nearing 60, was several inches shorter than Prowse.

Few knew of Anderson's role until Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, said in a 1983 interview that "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 any more," Hamill told Starlog magazine, referring to the legendary director and producer. "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."

Anderson was astonishingly influential as a cinematic swordfighter. In addition to Vader, he either performed stunts or did coaching for movies such as The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings, Highlander, many Bond movies, and much, much else. He even coached Errol Flynn!

In honor of his death, then, here's a clip of one of his most well-known scenes: