Greetings and salutations, fellow Fridge Nukers! Bradfield here, reporting from Saint BRAAAAAR of RAAAAWR’s Hospital on Kashyyk.
The man who played Chewbacca [one of the few actors to play a role throughout all of the Star Wars films including the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.], British actor, Peter Mayhew, was hospitalized last week after contracting pneumonia. The good news is that, according to an individual named “Webmaster Rick,” — who apparently manages his Twitter account — issued the following statement today:
“Hey all, Webmaster Rick here. Peter is recovering well from his bout of pneumonia. He thanks you for the well wishes!!!”
While the 70 year-old actor’s illness is certainly cause for concern within the Star Wars community — to say nothing of the current film’s production team — at least for now, he does appear to be doing well, his spirits boosted by the outpouring of well wishes from his legions of loyal fans. If you’d like to send a personal “Get Well” to the big guy, you can find him on Twitter under @TheWookieRoars.
The Twitter community has been good to the scifi icon. In 2013, the actor was detained by TSA agents because he needs to walk with a cane (being big is hell on the joints), and as such, just happened to walk with a custom cane shaped like fictitious weapon, the lightsaber. A tribute to the franchise that brought him so many fans. So naturally, the intelligent, thoughtful, sensible, well-trained patriots at the TSA detained him and confiscated his “weapon.” After Mayhew published pictures of the incident on his Twitter feed, fans rallied to shame the agency into returning a cane to a 70 year-old man.
In addition to the news of Mayhew’s recovery, the story comes with an additional silver lining: before he fell ill, he was on the way to an appearance in Texas It was rumored that, after the TSA incident, he was swearing off the States for good. His absence at both 2013 and 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International seemed only to enforce the rumor. However, time, Twitter, and a new Star Wars trilogy going into production, heal all wounds, including, apparently pneumonia.
So, Peter should be feeling better soon, and with any luck, he will feel up to appearing at the many, many conventions coming in 2015.
In the meantime, check back with Nuke the Fridge early and often for all your Star Wars information needs!
[Sources: MSN Entertainment, The Hollywood Reporter, Twitter]