Erik Bauersfeld, voice of 'Star Wars' character Admiral Ackbar, dead at 93
LOS ANGELES -- Erik Bauersfeld, the veteran radio actor who voiced Return of the Jedi characters Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna and reprised the Ackbar role for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has died. He was 93.
Bauersfeld's death was confirmed Monday by his manager, Derek Maki, of Coolwaters Productions.
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The native New Yorker Bauersfeld led the drama and literature department at Berkeley, California-based KPFA for more than 30 years and was approached by longtime Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt for voice roles. Bauersfeld said he spent very little time on the voice of Ackbar, who had a handful of lines, none more memorable than "It's a trap!"
"I saw the face. And I knew what he must sound like. And I did it," he said in a 2012 interview with San Francisco Chronicle pop culture critic Peter Hartlaub (below).
He was also the voice of Bib Fortuna -- essentially Jabba the Hutt's doorman -- in Jedi, though that role was uncredited.
J.J. Abrams brought Bauersfeld back to reprise Gial Ackbar, the Mon Calamari naval officer who switched from commanding the Rebel fleet to Resistance fighters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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Topics Star Wars
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
