Unsung Heroes of Star Wars: A Cheer for Dickey Beer!

I think that as part of our May 4th Star Wars celebrations that it is only proper that we honour an unsung Star Wars hero - somebody great that perhaps not a whole lot of people know about. In this inaugural year for Fruitless Pursuits I hereby nominate the hard work of Dickey Beer.

Now, we may not sing songs about Dickey Beer (yet), and perhaps dicks and beer aren't two things that usually go together, but whether you realise it or not, we've all certainly been entertained by the host of vivid characters that The D-Beer helped to bring to life. Effortlessly straddling the gulf between stuntman and Dutchman, he was the stunt double for both Luke Skywalker and Boba Fett on Return of the Jedi, as well as a biker scout, a stormtrooper, and my favourite, Barada.

Sadly, Dickie Beer was later pwned by a rogue Sarlaac on set:

Thankfully, Mr. Beer recovered and lived on to do stunts on plenty of other great films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Cliffhanger and Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon. You can read an interview about his experience on Return of the Jedi here where he offers a number of fascinating insights. For example, he reveals that for him RTOJ was "just another movie" and that Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill were "just normal people". Interesting...

We salute Mr. Beer, and if you're having a beer today to celebrate Star Wars Day then why not make it a dickey one?