August 16, 1977: Elvis 39 Years Gone

39 years ago today, Elvis Presley left the first big hole in pop culture with his passing. Here he is near the height of his powers at New York's Madison Square Garden. The 16mm film editing is a little choppy, but it is still a testament to the power and energy of an icon.


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RIP Kenny Baker

Beloved and iconic character actor Kenny Baker, forever known as the man inside R2D2 in the Star Wars universe, died Saturday after years of poor health. The above interview, presumably for Swedish television, features Baker's fond recollections of Jeremy Brett, who played Boba Fett, and of David Prowse, the former bodybuilder who portrayed the physical presence of Darth Vader. Asked about his main costar Anthony Daniels,  who portrays C3-P0, Baker responds simply, "I haven't seen Anthony", and the interviewer wisely doesn't push the issue. I can say that in 1999 I was at an Edmonton convention during which Daniels shot down a hapless child's question about whether R2D2 and C3P0 get along in real life by turning to him and imploring, "Do you get along with all YOUR friends all the time?" So no love lost there.

But really no matter. Such was the contribution of the 3"8' Baker (with Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt on "vocals") to the Star Wars fandom and legacy that in 2001 Lucasfilm produced a 3-part faux documentary on Artoo called Beneath The Dome which gives him a sister, brother, and (naturally) disapproving father. Throw in his days as a counterculture rebel, babe magnet, and tempermental movie star, and there is no way any of that should be any more than firmly tongue-in-cheek. Yet thanks to Kenny Baker's fine work over almost four decades, it is almost believable.






Rest well, Mr. Baker.


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