thoseYodaGuys.com
THE PEOPLE BEHIND YODA
“Everyone knows Yoda... the world’s favorite alien. Yet few fans can name 3 or 4 people involved in bringing him to life. In fact, there was a small army of talented people behind the scenes who’s contribution creating Yoda has generally gone unnoticed. This website is dedicated to correcting that... and to answer blogs that argue over who did what.
Few fan’s realize the politics behind the emergence of movie animatronics and the confusion that even movie makers had over where the boundaries should lie between union departments resulted in a lot of confusing credits that have left fans asking “Who really made Yoda?”
This website is founded upon the recollections of Nick Maley, one of the contributors. Through a quirk of fate, Nick has become known as thatYodaGuy. But he has sponsored this website to highlight the contributions of the many other ‘Yoda Guys’ who were involved...
RALPH MCQUARRIE. original Yoda illustrations
STUART FREEBORN. ANH: ESB: ROTJ: creature designer, sculptor of Yoda, builder of the first animatronic Yoda mechanism (Yoda’s Dad).
FRANK OZ. ESB: ROTJ: TPM: chief puppeteer and voice of Yoda
NICK DUDMAN. ESB: trainee generally assisting Stu Freeborn ROTJ: prosthetic make-up artist TPM: creature design supervisor
WENDY MIDENER FROUD. ESB: Yoda body fabricator, liaison between Stu and the Muppets, puppet armature builder and Yoda puppeteer.
NICK MALEY. ESB: Builder of the second animatronic head, Yoda mold maker, skin maker, head assembly, art worker.
GRAHAM FREEBORN. ESB: ROTJ: Yoda’s make-up & hairdresser.
DAVID BARCLAY ESB: trainee, Yoda lip modeler & Yoda puppeteer (Yoda’s eyes) ROTJ: puppeteer
BOB KEEN. ESB: trainee & mechanical assistant
RON HONE. ESB: radio control supervisor
KATHRYN “KATHY” MULLEN. ESB: Yoda puppeteer
MIKE QUINN. ROTJ: Yoda puppeteer
DAVID GREENAWAY. ROTJ: TPM: Yoda puppeteer
DEEP ROY. ESB: little person inside the “walking Yoda.”
GARY POLLARD. TPM: sculptor of the new Yoda
CHRIS BARTON. TPM: animatronic model design supervisor
MARIA BOGGI. TPM: body fabricator
KATHY SMEE TPM: Yoda Puppeteer (right arm)
DON AUSTEN. TPM: Yoda Puppeteer (ears)
JONATHON ABBAS-KLAHR. TPM: mold maker
Who are “those Yoda Guys” ?
*NOTE: THIS SITE IS IN NOT CONNECTED TO LUCASFILM OR GEORGE LUCAS who own all rights to Yoda and the creatures from Star Wars. The use of the string "yoda" in our domain name and the presentation of images from the saga are courtesy of their generosity in allowing us to do so. Our use of the name YodaGuy or YodaGuys is NOT intended to imply that the individuals named above were the only "guys" who worked to produce Yoda. "thatYodaGuy" is intended to imply ONLY that Nick Maley is a guy who was involved in making Yoda. The name has evolved from popular use. ThoseYodaGuys.com is created to set the record straight on the other individuals also involved. If you have any corrections or additions please contact us.
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The info is written from memory. It’s been 30 years and there are undoubtedly some corrections needed and more contributors that we are not aware of, especially from TPM. If you have FIRST HAND knowledge of the creation of Yoda PLEASE email it to us with details of your connection to the STAR WARS movies.
