Empire Strikes Back: Who played the Emperor?
Dave Gates
Empire Strikes Back: Who played the Emperor?
I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the Emperor sounded
like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
Emperor."
At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
resolution on this?
--
Dave Gates
dave...@primenet.com
Dave Gates
Brandon Wolgast
> like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
> Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
> Emperor."
>
> At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
> came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
> resolution on this?
The Emperor was played by a woman with makeup and then baboon eyes were
super imposed over hers, and, of course, a male voice was given later.
Brandon
Ki-Adi-Mundi
Dave Gates wrote:
> Empire Strikes Back: Who played the Emperor?
>
> I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the Emperor sounded
> like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
> Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
> Emperor."
>
> At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
> came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
> resolution on this?
>
> --
> Dave Gates
> dave...@primenet.com
I read somewhere, that it was Alec Guiness. He was having eye problems,
and had to shade his eyes from bright lights or something. Whether or not
this is accurate, I have no idea, just what I read. Although, I cannot
remember the source where I read this.
--
Ki-Adi-Mundi
"You insist that the weight of the world rests on your shoulders..."
siz
siz
"inpheaux skifyre" <inph...@no-spam.mindless.com> wrote:
>
>i still dont get why they threw baboon eyes on palpy.. it just doesnt seem
>right..
TemplerSay
>The Emperor was played by a woman with makeup and then baboon eyes were
>super imposed over hers, and, of course, a male voice was given later.
>
>
>Brandon
And the voice supplied was that of New Zealand actor Clive Revill.
Take care.
:o)
inpheaux skifyre
Brandon Wolgast <brandon...@email.msn.com> wrote in message
news:OQagnf8q#GA.318@cpmsnbbsa02...
| > I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the Emperor sounded
| > like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
| > Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
| > Emperor."
| >
| > At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
| > came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
| > resolution on this?
|
| super imposed over hers, and, of course, a male voice was given later.
i still dont get why they threw baboon eyes on palpy.. it just doesnt seem
right..
--
inpheaux skifyre {remove no-spam to email}
"the answer is no"
{site}[http://surf.to/inpheaux]
{icq}[1980144]{line 4/4}[end]
The Doctor [Lou]
<brandon...@email.msn.com> wrote:
> > I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the Emperor sounded
> > like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
> > Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
> > Emperor."
> >
> > At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
> > came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
> > resolution on this?
>
> The Emperor was played by a woman with makeup and then baboon eyes were
> super imposed over hers, and, of course, a male voice was given later.
Yes, in TESB, the Emperor was indeed played by an actress with the male
voice of Clive Revill
Smilodon
is>| super imposed over hers, and, of course, a male voice was given later.
is> i still dont get why they threw baboon eyes on palpy.. it just doesnt
is> seem right..
Actually, I believe that it was rhesus monkey eyes.
See how right it seems now? :)
Wayne Poe
On Mon, 31 May 1999, Ki-Adi-Mundi wrote:
> I read somewhere, that it was Alec Guiness. He was having eye problems,
> and had to shade his eyes from bright lights or something. Whether or not
> this is accurate, I have no idea, just what I read. Although, I cannot
> remember the source where I read this.
I posted such a thing for a while. Someeone told me it was refuted in the
"SW Chronicles" but there are a lot of errors in that book, too. And there
still is no picture of the alleged actress who supposedly did this. I
could haveen a combination of Guinness and her. (Certainly looks like
Guinness in the profile view.) Anyway, below is my little mini-article on
the subject:
WHO PLAYED THE EMPEROR IN "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK"?
In FANTASTIC FILMS Collector's Edition #20, December 1980,the article
reports:
For the record, although his voice was done by Clive Revill, the face
belonged to Alec Guinness. Alec Guinness developed serious problems in
his left eye about eight months before Empire started filming.
Specialists warned him he could go blind if he didn't stay out of bright
lights. He stopped making films, except for a one-day appearance for his
Empire duties, and requested that his name not appear in the ads to keep
from disappointing the fans who might have come to see him. Did you
notice the Emperor's funny eyes beneath the cloak? Guinness was wearing
special sunglasses to shield him from the bright studio lights.
The above eye problems, as well as Lucas having to "woo"
Guinness back into the role is corroborated in "Once Upon a Galaxy: A
Journal in the Making of TESB". Strangely, while it covers every
aspect of the filming of TESB, details about the Emperor were not to be
found.
Some people have said that the Emperor was played by a woman, with monkey
eyes superimposed over her, etc. etc. Surprisingly, this rumor may have
been started by Mark Hamill. In Starlog #40, (November 1980) Hamill talks
about the Emperor:
"Originally, I saw a lot of sketches, and I told him how I thought he
should be. I thought he should be like The Wizard of Oz. Maybe the images
should change so you can't really get a fix on him. Have it like a
beautiful woman's lips moving, and that fades to a stop-frame animation
creature, to an actor in make-up. So you just can't pin it down.
"---but its interesting because the Emperor was an actress, dubbed with a
male voice, and monkey's eyes superimposed. There is certainly something
strange about him. There has got to be *something* to the fact that he
looks and sounds a bit like Obi Wan."
Anyone with a copy of "The Art of TESB" can see the sketches Hamill
referred to. There you can see sketches for strange eyes, and a pair of
woman's lips. I think Hamill was guessing based on his own ideas. Notice
he too sees the resemblence to Obi Wan.
Finally, in the script for TESB, we find:
INTERIOR: VADER'S STAR DESTROYER---VADER'S CHAMBER
A 12 foot hologram of the Galactic Emperor materializes before Vader. The
Emperor's dark robes and monk's hood are reminicent of the cloak worn by
BEN KENOBI
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Visit the Ultimate Starwars vs.Startrek Database
http://h4h.com/louis/vsfaq.html *Comparative analyses
lo...@h4h.com *Pictures and .wavs
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
G Bell
>Empire Strikes Back: Who played the Emperor?
Clive Revill played the Emperor. Usually plays dodgy English types in
numerous made for tv movies and tv shows. Started on the usual bit part
route in British movies from the fifties, with the likes of Robert Shaw,
Patrick McGoohan, Micheal Caine, etc.
Graham
Andy S
Palpatine and in the 'Trivia' section it states that an ACTRESS was made up
for the part in TESB - presumably voice was dubbed??
Andy
Dave Gates <dave...@primenet.com> wrote in message
news:3753150C...@primenet.com...
>
> Empire Strikes Back: Who played the Emperor?
>
> I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the Emperor sounded
> like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
> Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
> Emperor."
>
> At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
> came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
> resolution on this?
>
> --
> Dave Gates
> dave...@primenet.com
Damminator
don't listen to them. Emperor Palpatine in ESB was played by Ian McDiarmid,
Senator Palpatine in PM.
Edward Morris
and (I think) Alec Guiness in makeup. THey never listed who played the
Emporer in ESB.
ed
Damminator wrote in message
<19990601143213...@ng-fb1.aol.com>...
Norman Wilner
>Dave Gates <dave...@primenet.com> wrote in message
>news:3753150C...@primenet.com...
>>
>> Empire Strikes Back: Who played the Emperor?
>>
>> I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the
>> Emperor sounded like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others
>> say he LOOKED liked Alec Guiness (but with makeup).
>> The closing credits listed only "Voice of Emperor."
>>
>> At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but
>> nothing ever came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or
>> know if there was any resolution on this?
>>
> for Emperor Palpatine and in the 'Trivia' section it states that
> an ACTRESS was made up for the part in TESB - presumably
> voice was dubbed??
I remember reading that the "Empire" Emperor was created by compositing the
eyes of a monkey over the face of an actress in makeup, and dubbed by Clive
Revill. Unfortunately, that was almost twenty years ago and I can't
remember _where_ I read this -- though I have a feeling it was in Alan
Arnold's paperback about the making of the film, "Once Upon a Galaxy".
Norm Wilner
Starweek Magazine
Edward Morris
ed
Norman Wilner wrote in message ...
DrZaius166
>Senator Palpatine in PM.
>
It was most certainly not Ian McDiarmid. If it were Ian McDiarmid in ESB, it
would look and sound like him, which it doesn't.
Ian McDiarmid does, however, appear as the Emperor in "Return of the Jedi."
-Gordon Stokes
Other notable Gordons include: Flash Gordon, Commissioner Gordon, Gordon Jump,
Gordon Lightfoot, Gordon "Gordie" Howe, G. Gordon Liddy, Artemus Gordon, Gale
Gordon, General "Chinese" Gordon and "Gordon" by Barenaked Ladies.
Rocket Fett
After so many years as a Dark Lord of the Sith (presumably 60 some years), and
so twisted and evil, it has done that to his appearance. By the end of Episode
III I think we can expect a more ESB looking Emperor Palpatine.
inpheaux skifyre wrote:
> Brandon Wolgast <brandon...@email.msn.com> wrote in message
> news:OQagnf8q#GA.318@cpmsnbbsa02...
> | > I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the Emperor sounded
> | > like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
> | > Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
> | > Emperor."
> | >
> | > At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
> | > came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
> | > resolution on this?
> |
> | The Emperor was played by a woman with makeup and then baboon eyes were
> | super imposed over hers, and, of course, a male voice was given later.
>
> i still dont get why they threw baboon eyes on palpy.. it just doesnt seem
> right..
> --
> inpheaux skifyre {remove no-spam to email}
> "the answer is no"
> {site}[http://surf.to/inpheaux]
> {icq}[1980144]{line 4/4}[end]
--
Please visit my homepage and click my sponsor banners on top to visit their
sites. Thank you. http://freeweb.pdq.net/nighthawk/starwars.htm
Rocket Fett
they said in the credits, and if is was otherwise, it would say so in the
credits. If Alec Guiness was havins so many eye problems, then how come he
was able to play Obi-Wan on Hoth and Dagobah with no problems with his
eyes? They would have done the scene as Emperor at the same time. But they
didn't casue Alec Guiness is not ESB Emperor. It doesn't sound
anythinglike him and doesn't look anything like him. If it was him they
would have given him credit for the part, just like they did giving him
credit for being Obi-Wan. This woman with baboon eyes and Alec Guiness
with eye prosthetics and antoher voice thing is just stupid. There's
nothing to back that up, plus the fact they wouldn't give credit to Clive
Revell in the closing credits if he didn't do the part. It's pretty
obvious.
Dave Gates wrote:
> Empire Strikes Back: Who played the Emperor?
>
> I remember when this movie came out, thinking that the Emperor sounded
> like Alec Guiness. Then, I heard others say he LOOKED liked Alec
> Guiness (but with makeup). The closing credits listed only "Voice of
> Emperor."
>
> At the time, this was the source of a theory or two, but nothing ever
> came of it. Does anyone have any ideas or know if there was any
> resolution on this?
>
> --
> Dave Gates
> dave...@primenet.com
Norman Wilner
>
>Clive Revell played the Emperor in ESB and did the voice.
>That is what they said in the credits, and if is was otherwise,
>it would say so in the credits.
It does say otherwise. Clive Revill was credited as "Voice of Emperor".
It's not his face on the screen.
>If Alec Guiness was havins so many eye problems, then
>how come he was able to play Obi-Wan on Hoth and Dagobah
>with no problems with his eyes?
Guiness shot all of his scenes on a soundstage in England, in a single day.
>They would have done the scene as Emperor at the same time.
What makes you say that?
>But they didn't casue Alec Guiness is not ESB Emperor. It doesn't
>sound anythinglike him and doesn't look anything like him. If it was
>him they would have given him credit for the part, just like they did
>giving him credit for being Obi-Wan. This woman with baboon eyes
>and Alec Guiness with eye prosthetics and antoher voice thing is
>just stupid.
And yet, that's more or less what happened. An actress was photographed
delivering the Emperor's lines, and the eyes of a monkey -- I'm not sure
whether a baboon's were used, or those of some other species -- were
superimposed over hers. Clive Revill subsequently dubbed the part.
You're right about one thing, though: Alec Guinness was not involved.
>There's nothing to back that up, plus the fact they wouldn't give
>credit to Clive Revell in the closing credits if he didn't do the part.
>It's pretty obvious.
As I said above, Revill is credited solely as the voice of the Emperor.
Norm Wilner
Starweek Magazine
Wes Hutchings
that keeps cropping up.
wes
----------
In article <3754CBA0...@yahoo.com>, Rocket Fett <rocke...@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> Clive Revell played the Emperor in ESB and did the voice. That is what
> they said in the credits, and if is was otherwise, it would say so in the
> credits. If Alec Guiness was havins so many eye problems, then how come he
> was able to play Obi-Wan on Hoth and Dagobah with no problems with his
> eyes? They would have done the scene as Emperor at the same time. But they
> didn't casue Alec Guiness is not ESB Emperor. It doesn't sound
> anythinglike him and doesn't look anything like him. If it was him they
> would have given him credit for the part, just like they did giving him
> credit for being Obi-Wan. This woman with baboon eyes and Alec Guiness
> with eye prosthetics and antoher voice thing is just stupid. There's
> nothing to back that up, plus the fact they wouldn't give credit to Clive
> Revell in the closing credits if he didn't do the part. It's pretty
> obvious.
>
steev
he released the Special Editions?
Steev
Tezza
Rocket Fett wrote in message <3754CA2E...@yahoo.com>...
>The bulding brow are for the same reason as the pale skin and
yellow eyes.
>After so many years as a Dark Lord of the Sith (presumably 60
some years), and
>so twisted and evil, it has done that to his appearance. By the
end of Episode
>III I think we can expect a more ESB looking Emperor Palpatine.
My website has a fairly accurate picture of Palpatine in episode
2 & 3. Check it out; you won't be disapointed.
Tezza
My slice of the web...
www.ThePhantomMenace.co.uk/obi-morph/
"War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who's left."