Chewbacca: Welcome to Hoth, I mean West Michigan
December 7th, 2008 at 1:23 am by Laff at the Movies under Entertainment
UPDATED 12/8/08 WITH MORE PHOTOS
Chewbacca: Welcome to Hoth, I mean West Michigan
Yes, I’m a big Star Wars fan, but no I didn’t really say my headline “welcome to Hoth” … it just seems like it was fitting with our current sub-freezing temperatures and non-stop snow. But I did tell Peter Mayhew it was nice to meet him as I shook his hand.
The approximately 7′0″ British born actor best known for playing everyone’s favorite wookiee in 4 Star Wars movies visited Grand Rapids Saturday, and it couldn’t have been a better peak to my birthday weekend!!!
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Seriously – this is the man who played Chewbacca – one of the most recognizable movie characters from the 1980s – and not only did I get to shake his giant hand and get an autograph – I also got to take a picture with him.
Mayhew may have been big and imposing on screen in the Chewbacca suit, but in real life Mayhew is quiet and reserved, and at the age of 64, his tall lanky build has him using a cane these days.
And yes, there was charge for an autograph – but that’s okay when you realize most stars on the convention circuit charge for autographs anyway – and this was without the cost of admission to a convention, Mayhew made a stop at Celebration! Cinema North… but bottomline: can you really put a price on a special link to a favorite childhood memory? It was totally worth it.
Special thanks to the 501st Legion, Great Lakes Garrison (a fan based costuming group that works mostly for charities) for bringing Mayhew here from his home in Texas.
And thanks again Peter Mayhew – it was nice to meet you after all these years!
MY PREVIOUS BLOG ABOUT MAYHEW’S APPEARANCE IN GRAND RAPIDS
Tags: 501st Legion, Chewbacca, Grand Rapids, Laff at the Movies, Peter Mayhew, Star Wars
Aaron Lafferty covers the film industry in West Michigan.
Favorite movies include Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Matrix, Clear and Present Danger, Tombstone, Rounders, The...
…but no I didn’t really say my headline “welcome to Hoth”
But I’m pretty sure you did… it reads Chewbacca: Welcome to Hoth to me
Cool pics. I’ll post something in the 6pm today teasing the blog. I wish we could have gotten a camera there, but we didn’t have an extra because BKU was on vacation.
Sounds like y’all had a lot of fun. Thanks for the cool pics.
Peter is one of the great celebrities from Star Wars to meet. He’s always gracious, a gentle giant as opposed the mighty wookiee he playes. Wookiee…. two “e”s.
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What parts of Star Wars was Chewbacca in?