"It's a trap!" Every "Star Wars" fans knows the line, even though the character who uttered it in 1983's "Return of the Jedi," Admiral Ackbar, was hardly a major character.
The man who delivered that famous assessment, Erik Bauersfeld, is now 90, and an interview he gave last month to the San Francisco Chronicle's Peter Hartlaub is now making its way around the Internet.
Bauersfeld, a respected radio dramatist, told Hartlaub he's still never seen the original "Star Wars."
He delivered his famous "Jedi" part in one take. "('Star Wars' sound designer) Ben Burtt showed me the picture (of Akbar) and I did it," Bauersfeld said. "I saw the face and I knew what he must sound like."
Bauersfeld also voiced Jabba the Hutt's servant Bib Fortuna, and "Star Wars" fans still send him figurines and other memorabilia of both characters, asking him to sign them, which he does.
Bauersfeld told Hartfeld that he "almost" was given the voice role of Yoda, whom he calls "that little philosopher." Yoda's voice was provided instead by famed Muppeteer Frank Oz.
In an article Hartlaub wrote about his interview, a Chronicle reader notes, "How awesome is that, you could be sitting next to this guy in a restaurant, and have no idea he led the alliance against Darth Vader! May the force always be with you Admiral Ackbar!"
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