Peter Mayhew was born on 19^th May 1944, and he was a prominent American-English actor, most noticeable for being in Star Wars and portraying Chewbacca. He has also played the same character for the movie series since the 1977’s originals till The Force Awakens. He took a long retirement after that role in 2015.

Early Life

Peter Mayhew is originally from Barnes, and he was diagnosed with a medical condition known as gigantism when eight. Some media sources also report that he may not have sic gigantism or possess Marfan syndrome. His peak height was a little above the seven feet mark, and he is one of the tallest movie performers in history.

Check out other celebrities net worth

Career Beginning

The first performance from Peter Mayhew was Sinbad and The Eye of The Tiger, which was released in the year 1977. People discovered him from a newspaper photograph and an article describing him as a man which big feet. Soon he found an opportunity to perform as Minton. When the original Star Wars casting was ongoing, George Lucas was trying to find an actor who was tall and could play the role of a hairy alien creature called Chewbacca. He originally planned to cast a bodybuilder who was six feet and six inches tall named David Prowse. But Prowse found the role of Darth Vader to be more suited to his personality.

Lucas then found out about Peter, who was working with A & E Dept University of Mayday Hospital as an orderly. He also became aware of the casting call and visited Elstree Studios to attend it. He was seven feet and three inches tall who immediately secured the opportunity once he stood up in front of Lucas. He continued his original job while his roles for the original Star Wars were being filmed.

Mayhew framed his performance for the Chewbacca after watching and researching the modus operandi of monkeys, gorillas, and bears. He often visited the London Zoo to gain an idea of the nature of hairy mammals. He was praised by Lucas, who described him as the closest human being to the deception of a Wookie. Lucas added that Peter possesses a big heart, a very gentle nature, and Lucas likes to let him win every time. The characters did not speak, and so he did not possess any lines. Every sound that the Chewbacca made was derived from the voices of other animals.

Personal Life

Peter was married to a Texas native, Mary Angelique Luker, and resided with her in Boyd. He was a stepfather to Katy, Kathleen, and Sheril, the three children of Mary. His wife also leads a charity under his namesake, the Foundation of Peter Mayhew. He also is a natural citizen of the United States, and he had a ceremony for that in Texas. He gave an interview at the Fort Worth Star where he made a joke about not receiving a medal at the ceremony. This statement became a memorandum inside a Star Wars closing scene where Han Solo and Luke Skywalker receive awards, but Chewbacca is left out of the list, and he roars.

Net Worth

The average net worth of Peter Mayhew at the time of his passing was five million dollars. He is a prominent comedian and businessperson, so he had many other sources of income besides performing arts.