Star Wars' Lord of the Light Saber, Bob Anderson, Dies

Hollywood legend worked on films including George Lucas' original trio of space films and The Lord of the Rings trilogy

By Erik Pedersen Jan 03, 2012 2:30 AMTags

The Force was strong in this one.

Legendary swordmaster Bob Anderson, who donned the Darth Vader suit for some of the light saber battles in the original Star Wars trilogy, died Sunday in Sussex, West England, according to The New York Times. He was 89.

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A Hollywood icon known for his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the James Bond film From Russia With Love, several Three Musketeers adaptations and The Princess Bride, for which he provided instruction to the film's swashbucklers played by Carey Elwes and Mandy Patinkin—who reportedly were such ardent students that they would keep fighting after the cameras stopped rolling. Inconceivable!

A former Olympic fencer and the coach of England's national team for decades, Anderson got his start in movies by working with—and errantly stabbing—Errol Flynn on a 1952 film.