Carrie Fisher Sweetly Honored by Chewbacca Actor Peter Mayhew at Dallas Comic-Con's Nerd Year's Eve

Tribute to Star Wars icon, who died Dec. 27, was the last-minute centerpiece of the Texas fanfest

By Natalie Finn Jan 02, 2017 4:30 PMTags

Carrie Fisher was the be-all and end-all actress for Star Wars fans—and her memory is going to be honored every chance they get.

Peter Mayhew, who plays Chewbacca in the franchise, paid tribute to his late co-star at the Marvelous Nerd Year's Eve Comic-Con in Dallas, a late addition to the previously scheduled event in light of Fisher's shocking death last week.

"She was a princess," Mayhew, a native Texan who hosted the tribute with his wife, Angie, told the audience, per Dallas-Fort Worth's NBC 5. "She can adapt to almost any situation and she did."

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Carrie Fisher: A Life in Pictures

Fisher and Mayhew, who first met on the set of 1977's Star Wars, reprised their iconic roles in 2015's Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens. Fisher had finished shooting her role in Episode VIII, so she will be seen playing Princess Leia (in new, non-CGI-enhanced footage, at least) one last time when that already anticipated film comes out on Dec. 15, 2017.

The winning anecdote from the Dec. 31 event in Dallas, however, may have been Angie's remembrance of being grilled by Carrie on set, Princess Leia wanting to make sure she was good enough for Chewbacca.

Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

"Carrie had a habit," Angie Mayhew said, per TheCW33. "She would walk over to Peter. She'd crawl up in his lap, and they had a thing. It wasn't unusual. It was normal for them.

"Peter introduced me as his wife. She looked at me, 'What was your name again?' 'Hi, Carrie. I'm Angie!' I went through a grilling, a grilling from the Princess to see if I could pass muster because she was not at all sure if my intentions were pure toward Peter."

Fisher died on Dec. 27, four days after suffering cardiac arrest on a flight from London to L.A. She had been on a whirlwind press tour promoting her new memoir, The Princess Diarist.

In a tragic twist that wasn't altogether surprising for those close to them, Fisher's mother, screen legend Debbie Reynolds, died on Dec. 28. Son Todd Fisher said her last words were about wanting to be with Carrie.

Todd told E! News Friday that he'd like a joint service for his mother and sister, but arrangements hadn't been finalized.

"But I think that sounds like a grand idea given the beautiful story between them," he said.