Bob Anderson

Bob Anderson was an English actor and fencer. Anderson also owns a claim to fame for being a swordfighting trainer for several films, as well as a stunt double for Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He is one of seven people to have played that character.

He was born in Hampshire.

Anderson did not receive much recognition for his role in the Star Wars films for years after their initial release, in part because David Prowse was so lauded for his portrayal that director George Lucas did not want to detract from the boost it gave the actor's career. In a 1983 interview, however, Mark Hamill paid homage to Anderson's contribution, saying, "Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader’s fighting. It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George I didn’t think it was fair any more. Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man."

His career in film began after competing in the Olympics for Great Britain, when he was called up to help out on Errol Flynn's "Master of Balantree" after the competition. Over the years he became the most legendary of sword-fight trainers/choreographers, having trained everyone from Errol Flynn to the cast of the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. 2002's "Die Another Day" saw James Bond and Sir Gustav Graves settle a bet in Blades Club, and it was Anderson who was sword master on the stunt sequence. He also supervised the training of the actors, including Rosamund Pike who played Olympic fencing champion Miranda Frost. But that was not his only brush with Bond. Way back in 1963, he was was an uncredited stunt coordinator on the second film in the series, "From Russia With Love". He also performed the same duties on the spoof version of "Casino Royale" in 1967.

As a competitive fencer, he represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in 1952 and the World Championships in 1950 and 1953 in the sabre event. He finished tied for fifth in the team sabre event at Helsinki in 1952.

After his retirement from fencing competition, Anderson emigrated to Canada, where he went on to become technical director of the Canadian Fencing Association. 

Fencing academy president Philip Bruce said on Monday that Anderson was "truly one of our greatest fencing masters and a world-class film fight director and choreographer".

Anderson is survived by his wife Pearl and three children.

Anderson died on New Year's Day 2012 in an English hospital. He was 89.

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