Personal items once owned by Peter Mayhew – who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise – have been pulled from auction after his widow’s public pleas.
The wife of the actor, Angie Mayhew, told TMZ on Thursday morning that she was upset that an auction house in the UK was selling several of Peter’s possessions.
Ryedale Auctioneers was about to put up many personal items from his Star Wars days including scripts, call sheets, and signed photos owned by the towering 7foot3 British-American actor who passed away in 2019.
However there was a resolution found later on Thursday as Angie was able to come to an agreement with the auction house to get back the items.
The Peter Mayhew Foundation Twitter posted: ‘Started our morning on Zoom with @AngusAshworth from @RyedaleAuction1 and communicated our desire that Peter’s items be returned to Angie and the Mayhew family. Will keep everyone posted as progress is made – thank you for the continued support!’
Happy ending: Personal items once owned by Peter Mayhew – who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise – have been pulled from auction after his widow’s public pleas, the actor is pictured in Los Angeles back in May 2018
Iconic: Mayhew portrayed lovable Wookie Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise, as he is pictured left in 1983’s Star Wars Episode Vi – Return Of The Jedi
Angie had been hoping to take ownership of the items again in order to put them on display at the family’s ‘Chewy’ museum in Texas.
The auction house had originally received the items from a couple who had moved into Peter’s old home in northern Ireland and found them in the attic.
The new tenants claim that they did not know that the memorabilia had actually once belonged to Peter so they ‘unwittingly’ submitted it for auction.
Angie told TMZ that when she and Peter were moving out of the home, her now late husband had attempted to get the keepsakes in the attic but was unable to due to serious knee issues and that he didn’t want her going up there either and risking injury.
Peter had undergone double knee replacement surgery in 2013 and had a full-time wheelchair the previous two years and was still largely reliant on it while filming 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Angie told the publication that he had tried to get as many items as he could but had to leave the rest.
She also said that leaving the memorabilia behind was one of her and Peter’s ‘biggest disappointments’ in life.
Angie had saw that her late husband’s personal items were up for auction and got those at his Peter Mayhew Foundation charity to contact the auction house.
They also put out a tweet which read: ‘When we moved out of this house Peter’s movement challenges made it impossible for him to get into the attic to get the rest of these memories. It really breaks my heart to see our belongings auction off like this by @angusashworth and @rydaleAuction1. ~ Angie Mayhew’
Taking a stand: The wife of the actor, Angie Mayhew, told TMZ on Thursday morning that she was upset that an auction house in the UK was selling several of Peter’s possessions, the couple are seen in Hollywood back in December 2016
‘Thank you for continued support’: Ryedale Auctioneers was about to put up many personal items from his Star Wars days including scripts, call sheets, and signed photos owned by the towering 7foot3 British-American actor who passed away in 2019 however the Peter Mayhew Foundation announced a resolution on Thursday morning
Interesting: The auction house had originally received the items from a couple who had moved into Peter’s old home in northern Ireland and found them in the attic, Mayhew is seen left in 1980’s The Star Wars Episode V – Empire Strikes Back
She spoke to those at Ryedale Auctioneers on Thursday morning and was able to come to an agreement.
Mayhew came to the attention of film casting agents completely by chance while working as an orderly at London’s King’s College Hospital when a reporter for a local newspaper took his photograph for an article about men with big feet in 1976.
Seeing the picture, producer Charles H. Schneer invited Mayhew to audition for a film he was working on – Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger – and he was cast as the Minoton, a robotic creature based on a Minotaur.
A short time later Mayhew was spotted by George Lucas who was looking for a large man to play the Wookie in his upcoming film, Star Wars.
The foundation originally put out a tweet which read: ‘When we moved out of this house Peter’s movement challenges made it impossible for him to get into the attic to get the rest of these memories. It really breaks my heart to see our belongings auction off like this by @angusashworth and @rydaleAuction1. ~ Angie Mayhew’
Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 and became the highest-grossing film of all time. It has been followed by another seven canonical films, with an eighth episode due this December, two standalone films, and has spawned TV series, video games and books.
Incredibly, Mayhew went back to his job at the hospital following the first Star Wars film and continued working there until Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy, was released in 1983.
After that he quit and made his living off the character, giving speeches and appearing at fan conventions.
Mayhew would reprise the role twice more – in 2005 for Revenge Of The Sith and 2015 for The Force Awakens.
Mayhew passed away just three weeks before his 75th birthday on April 30, 2019 after a heart attack at his home in Boyd, Texas.
Legend: Mayhew passed away just three weeks before his 75th birthday on April 30, 2019 after a heart attack at his home in Boyd, Texas, he is seen in May 2018
