Morris Bush or Maurice 'Morrie' Bush was an actor who played Dengar.
Biography
British boxer-turned-actor Maurice Bush (who was occasionally billed as Morris Bush) was a supporting player in a number of British films and television series from the 1950s to the 1990s. Bush was selected to play mummy-like bounty hunter Dengar in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (1980), uncredited and without any speaking lines. Dengar was intended to appear again in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (1983), as one of the background characters on Jabba the Hutt's sail barge, and his footage was filmed. However, save for a small appearance shortly after Luke Skywalker falls into the Rancor pit, Dengar was edited from the final movie. Dengar's face in Return of the Jedi is never clearly seen, and it was assumed by many that Bush did not play the role on this occasion until Jeremy Bulloch confirmed that it was Bush at Celebration Europe II's panel, "The Fett-Tastic Four."
His appearances would be used as Expanded Universe background for the character that would take place shortly after the events at Jabba's Palace. (It was Dengar who saved Boba Fett from the Sarlacc). It is also highly likely that Morris Bush was on the set of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (1977), as Dave Prowse recounts that Morris Bush subbed for him as Darth Vader for the sequence immediately following the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Bush's feet are shown kicking Kenobi's empty cloak).
Works
Filmography
| Year | Title | Contribution(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope | Darth Vader | Stood in for David Prowse immediately after Obi-Wan Kenobi died. |
| 1980 | Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back | Dengar | Uncredited |
| 1983 | Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi | Dengar |
Sources
"Trail of the Bounty Hunters" — Star Wars Insider 49 (as "Moray Bush")
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Morrie's career on screen with the greats". Isle of Thanet Gazette, 1999-09-10, p. 17. (web archive)
