Peter Mayhew, the British-born actor best known for portraying the gentle giant Chewbacca in the “Star Wars” movie franchise, died on Tuesday at his home in North Texas. He was 74.
His family confirmed the death in a statement on Thursday but did not specify where he died. In recent years he had lived in Boyd, in Wise County. A representative for Mr. Mayhew said he died after having a heart attack.
Mr. Mayhew, who was 7-foot-3, climbed into a shaggy costume to play Chewbacca, the menacing-seeming yet cuddly Wookiee who is Han Solo’s sidekick and co-pilot aboard the spaceship Millennium Falcon.
He appeared in all three films of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, as well as in the prequel “Revenge of the Sith” in 2005 and the sequel “The Force Awakens” in 2015.