Mark Hamill Reveals ‘Odd’ Star Wars Connection to David Bowie

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill revealed a connection between the original 1977 movie and David Bowie.

Hamill related a “fun fact” tweet, noting that he’d gone inside a papier-mache creature on the set in 1976, and discovered that one of the newspapers from which the prop had been built carried a review of a Bowie concert. “When I climbed inside the Dewback outside the Cantina in Tunisia, there was a crowbar to lift its head and it was covered in newspaper paper-mache [sic], including a review of a David Bowie concert in Paris, which I read by flashlight. Odd, but true.”

Asked by a follower how the concert had been, Hamill replied, “A rave review!” and added several thumbs-up emojis to later queries.

Last week, a memorial statue of Bowie was vandalized less than 48 hours after it had been unveiled in Aylesbury, England – the town where he first performed his Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust albums. The sculpture was paid for via a crowdfunding campaign, but a vandal later sprayed the slogan “Feed the homeless first” near its base. While volunteers worked on cleaning up the mess, a former colleague of Bowie’s said he’d donate £5000 to a homeless charity if the criminal owned up. “Let’s see if they have the conviction to be convicted,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bowie is among a number of rock musicians featured in a new photography exhibition at Lucy Bell Gallery in St Leonard’s-on-Sea in England. “Contacts” features the contact sheets created by photographers before they chose which images to turn into full-size prints for use. The show runs from April 7 to May 17.