Darth Vader Actor Dave Prowse Retires From All Autograph Signings
Dave Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, has retired from all autograph signings.
The announcement comes as another Star Wars actor, Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), also announced his retirement from the convention circuit.
The 83-year-old Prowse announced his retirement from the convention circuit last year, as he was limited by a number of physical ailments and symptoms of dementia which made traveling to meet fans difficult.
Since then, Prowse had only conducted private signings at his home, but a statement posted to several fan pages on social media announced he is ending those as well.
The statement read (taken from the Darth Vader Appreciation page on Facebook):
Dave’s family have decided that due to his ongoing health issues all private home signings will now come to an end. There will be no further bookings made. They ask that the autograph community respect their decision and their privacy and do not call them at home. Dave has been signing autographs for over 40 years. Sadly now it has become a difficult task for him, so the time has now come to stop.
Although best known for playing Darth Vader, Prowse appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows during his career. He played Frankenstein’s monster in two Hammer horror films: The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. He also appeared in the classic film A Clockwork Orange as Julian.
A short statement on the official Dave Prowse website confirms that he is retired.