Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew is dead at 74

died at his home in Texas. The British-born actor was 74 years old.

Mayhew was an aspiring actor working as a hospital orderly in 1976 when George Lucas tapped him to play the part. Mayhew’s primary qualification for the job was his height: he stood 7 feet 3 inches tall (220 cm).

That was tall enough to tower over Darth Vader, played by the six-foot-six (200 cm) David Prowse. Mayhew didn’t utter Chewbacca’s famous grunts and growls—those were voiced by sound-effects legend Ben Burtt.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mayhew went back to his hospital work after playing Chewie in . He came back to play the character again in and then  By that point, his character had become famous enough that he could make his living on the convention circuit.

“For more than 30 years, Peter traveled all over the world spending time with his fans and friends,” the family wrote in a memorial statement. “Peter developed lifelong friendships with the other cast members and his fans while on the convention circuit.”

Mayhew’s character was famously stiffed at the end of the original film—Luke and Han were awarded medals by Princess Leia, but Chewie didn’t get one. In 1997, the princess finally corrected that oversight at the MTV Movie Awards. Mayhew appeared—in costume—so that Carrie “Leia” Fisher could drape a medal around his neck.

Mayhew appeared in the 2005 Star Wars prequel, .

By the time the new trilogy got under way, Mayhew was in his 70s and suffering from health problems. Videos from around this time showed him walking slowly with the aid of a cane. As his family put it, “he fought his way back from being wheelchair-bound to stand tall and portray Chewbacca once more in .”

After that 2015 film, he handed off the role to Finish actor Joonas Suotamo, who has played Chewie in recent  films and is expected to play him again in this year’s  (although he only stands a paltry 6-foot-11).

Mayhew underwent spinal surgery last year to improve his mobility, an operation he declared a success.

“He was the gentlest of giants,” Mark Hamill—who played Luke Skywalker—tweeted on Thursday. “A big man with an even bigger heart who never failed to make me smile.”