David Prowse: Star Wars Darth Vader Dies After Brief Illness

David Charles Prowse, a British actor best known for playing the role of Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, died over the weekend after a brief illness.

AllNews gathered that the 83-year-old 'Star Wars' icon death was announced by his management on Sunday, November 30 via Twitter.

Reports has it that Prowse was battling prostate cancer since 2018.

According to Thomas Bowington Management statement "It's with great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and millions of fans around the world, to announce that our client DAVE PROWSE M.B.E. has passed away at the age of 85."

American actor Mark Hamill -- who played Darth Vader's son, Luke Skywalker, alongside Prowse sent his condolence in a tweet on Sunday.

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He wrote: "So sad to hear David Prowse has passed. He was a kind man & much more than Darth Vader.

"Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British Weightlifting Champion & Safety Icon the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as they loved him. #RIP."

AllNews recalls that Prowse was born into a working-class family and grew up in a council estate in Southmead, in southwestern England.

He gained a scholarship to attend Bristol Grammar School.

He had a passion for bodybuilding and was crowned British Weightlifting Champion several times in the 1960s. He became lifelong friends with actors Arnold Schwarzenegger in his weightlifting years.

His broad physique and towering figure helped land him roles as monsters and villains in TV shows and films.

He played the monster in "The Horror of Frankenstein" in 1970 and a bearded torturer in "Carry on Henry" in 1971. That same year he made an appearance as a bodyguard in Stanley Kubrick's dystopian film "A Clockwork Orange" in 1971.

He went on to play Darth Vader in all three of the original "Star Wars" films, in 1977, 1980 and 1983.

Health and fitness remained an interest for Prowse, who also worked as a personal trainer for actors playing the role of Superman, including Christopher Reeve, and wrote a book called "Fitness is Fun." He published an autobiography, "Straight from the Force's Mouth," in 2011.