Hugs and condolences to fans, friends and family of the late Peter Mayhew, who left the earth on Tuesday, 4.30. For the last 40-odd years Mayhew famously played the towering Chewbacca (7 foot, 3 inches tall at his peak) in the Star Wars films. The 74 year-old actor died at his North Texas home (Arlington?) of an undisclosed ailment.

Mayhew’s only interesting Chewy moment, acting-wise, was when he restrained himself just before Han Solo was put into carbon freeze….”yuhhhhaaahhhawwwwng!”

Boilerplate: “Mayhew was discovered by producer Charles H. Schneer while working as a hospital attendant in London, and cast in Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. The next year, he was cast as Chewbacca, the 200-year-old Wookiee.”

I’ve always disliked the spelling of “Wookiee” — what’s the point of the “i” after the “k” if you’ve already got two “e”s?