The secret John Wayne Star Wars cameo you didn’t know existed
As a lifelong Star Wars enthusiast and someone who has spent countless hours dissecting every frame of these iconic films, I can confidently say that the revelation of John Wayne‘s secret cameo in Star Wars: A New Hope is nothing short of mind-blowing. Growing up, I was captivated by the magic of both Star Wars and the legendary westerns of John Wayne, so to learn that these two worlds were intertwined in such a unique way is simply breathtaking.
The Star Wars movies feature numerous memorable guest appearances. Some are discreet, like Sofia Coppola in The Phantom Menace and Daniel Craig in The Force Awakens, while others are quite conspicuous, such as Jack Black and Lizzo in The Mandalorian. However, a hidden cameo could potentially outshine them all: the legendary western actor John Wayne was part of Star Wars: A New Hope, which hit theaters in 1977.
It’s understandable if you missed his fleeting role in the movie, given that many fans didn’t realize for years that this cameo existed at all. However, it might have remained a forgotten trivia had it not been for legendary sound designer Ben Burtt, known for his work on the original Star Wars trilogy, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Blade Runner. In an interview with Star Wars Blog years ago, Burtt disclosed that the character Garindan in A New Hope was not just portrayed by Sadie Eddon but was actually given voice by John Wayne himself, the iconic actor.
In case you’ve forgotten, there was an enigmatic character named Garindan, frequently referred to as Long Snoot among fans, who followed Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi around the Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine. This elusive figure had a distinctively large nose and an unforgettable voice that resembled a mix between a mosquito’s buzz and a vinyl record scratching, which was expertly brought to life by John Wayne.
It turns out that the sound effect for Garindan’s voice, which was later discovered to be John Wayne’s, wasn’t intentionally recorded by Ben Burtt as a personal favor for George Lucas. Instead, Burtt stumbled upon it years later while going through his old notes and tapes. He found that the electronic buzzing which made up Garindan’s voice had originated from his synthesizer, triggered by a human voice. It was John Wayne’s voice that was captured on the old loop line discarded by the studio. Burtt explained further that this sound was activated by dialogue such as “All right, what are you doing in this town?” or something similar.
Despite his voice being significantly altered in the film, it remains undeniable that John Wayne made an appearance in Star Wars: A New Hope through old recordings kept for years. Given that Star Wars is widely recognized as a space-themed western, and with John Wayne being iconic for his western movie roles, this unexpected cameo feels quite apt.
It’s accurate to say that, from a technical perspective, “A New Hope” marked Wayne’s final on-screen performance. A year prior to the release of “A New Hope”, in 1976, he portrayed the character J.B. Books in “The Shootist”, directed by Don Siegel. Tragically, Books was dying of cancer, a fate that mirrored Wayne’s real-life illness a few years later. Ironically, without knowing it at the time, John Wayne’s last role in film history was providing the voice for a mosquito-like character on Tatooine.
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2024-12-18 01:41