Bob Anderson - Darth Vader

Olympic fencer, movie sword master and Chikopi alum, Bob Anderson passed away January 1st aged 89.  Bob was invited to teach fencing at Chikopi by our then resident fencing coach Bob Foxcroft, (Foxy).  Anderson worked with actors including Errol Flynn and Antonio Banderas during five decades as a sword master, fight director and stunt performer.  Bob donned the Darth Vader black helmet in two of the three original "Star Wars" movies.  It was always supposed to be a secret, until Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker told Starlog Magazine.  Darth Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones and played by former weightlifter David Prowse but, Bob Anderson stepped in to perform the key fight scenes.  Those of us at Chikopi in the 1980’s will always remember Bob Anderson re-enacting Darth Vader’s light saber fight and rescuing Princess Leia.  The scene was recreated in the MainHouse by pushing the tables to the sides opening a long floor section.  He and Foxy performed the duel and Ak-O-Mak attended the show, too.  Bob was one of the film industry’s most sought-after stunt performers, fight choreographers and sword masters working on movies that included, “The Empire Strikes Back”, “Return of the Jedi”, “From Russia With Love”, “Die Another Day”, “The Princess Bride”, “The Mask of Zorro” and “The Legend of Zorro” and, “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”.  Bob contributed to the 2009 documentary “Reclaiming the Blade”.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Anderson_(fencer)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0961079/[caption id="attachment_1954" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Bob Anderson 1922-2012"][/caption]