The cast of Star Wars is mourning the death of the actor who played Chewbacca. Peter Mayhew died Tuesday in North Texas at the age of 74. Harrison Ford, who played Chewbacca's partner Han Solo in the films, said in a statement that he loved Mayhew. He called him a kind and gentle man who invested his soul into playing the beloved Wookie. Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill called him "the gentlest of giants - A big man with an even bigger heart." The head of LucasFilm, which produces the Star Wars franchise, remembered Mayhew as having a "kind and gentle nature."
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