Lost in an attic for years, a collection of “Star Wars” objects owned by actor Peter Mayhew, who played the alien Chewbacca, is being returned to his widow, who hardly appreciated being offered it up for a fan-coveted sale at auction reappeared the saga.
British giant Peter Meyhew, who died in 2019, was a 2m21 actor who played Chewbacca in the original film and the rest of the saga through 2015.
He and his wife Angie had sold their home in Keighley, northern England, a quarter of a century ago, leaving Star Wars items in the attic. The “souvenirs” mainly included scripts and autographed photos.
Subsequent owners restored the memorabilia and presented them to auction specialists, who shared the finds with the media and announced a sale in February.
The auction house Ryedale Auctioneers had auctioned the objects for 150 pounds (170 euros) per object.
Alarmed by the success of the sale with fans, the actor’s widow posted on the Twitter account of the Peter Mayhew Foundation, an association in his memory, that she was “heartbroken to see our wares auctioned off in this way.” become.
When we moved out of this house, Peter’s limited mobility made it impossible to get to the attic to get the rest of those memories. It really breaks my heart to see our stuff being auctioned from here @angusashworth And @RyedaleAuction1. ~Angie Mayhew https://t.co/9dql4g22Wa
— Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) February 8, 2023
According to her, Mayhew’s mobility issues made it “impossible for him to go to the attic to get the rest of those memories.” It was “one of the couple’s greatest regrets,” she said on the social network on Wednesday.
On Friday, the auction house removed the images of the items from its website.
“Knowing how important (these objects) are to the Foundation (…) the sellers are happy to donate them to the Foundation to remain in their permanent collection (…) for fans to have access forever”, Auction house owner Angus Ashworth said in a statement to AFP.