Peter Mayhew, soul of Chewbacca, has died at 74

Days before his 75th birthday, and mere weeks before the 42nd anniversary of Star Wars, one of its leading lights has gone out of the world.

Peter Mayhew, the 7-foot-2-inch British actor whose name is forever synonymous with Chewbacca the Wookiee, died this week at the age of 74. He passed away at his home in Boyd, Texas.

Mayhew's family, including his wife Angie and three children, announced his passing via the actor's popular Twitter account, @theWookieeRoars.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Mayhew was working as a hospital orderly in 1976 when an American director named George Lucas came to London looking to cast the role of Chewbacca, a 7-foot-tall hairy mashup of the Lucas family dog and Planet of the Apes, in his upcoming space fantasy film. (Mayhew had previously played an uncredited role as a monster in a Sinbad movie). In a story he would relate repeatedly, Mayhew had only to stand up like a gentleman to greet him before Lucas gave him the part.

Over the course of the original Star Wars trilogy, Mayhew's quirky movement -- including what his family affectionally called his "knock-kneed running" -- made Chewie come alive for millions. He reprised the role, briefly, in 2005's Revenge of the Sith. By the time The Force Awakens was announced, Mayhew was in a wheelchair in need of a knee operation -- but he was determined to play Chewie one more time.

"The Wookiee will roar again," Mayhew told fans at the 2013 Star Wars Celebration in Essen, Germany, a crutch raised defiantly in the air.

Thanks in part to donations from fans, Mayhew had the operation. He was standing in the famous Wookiee suit when Harrison Ford uttered the soon-to-be-immortal line, "Chewie, we're home."

Mayhew was for years the most warm-hearted and generous soul to Star Wars fans at conventions, embracing his role in our hearts with as big of a hug as you'd expect. I've personally asked him, and heard others ask, the same questions many times over. His British burr may have been slowly subsumed over the years under a Texas twang, but he never replied with anything less than a generous full-length answer. And he was a proud supporter of the stormtroopers-for-charity organization, The 501st Legion.

Mark Hamill was the first fellow Star Wars actor to post his condolences. Mayhew "drew great strength from the energy of the family, friends and fans he knew and loved" as he continued to "soldier on" in later years, Hamill wrote.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Harrison Ford released an offline statement shortly after.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Billy Dee Williams has weighed in.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

As has Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, via the official Star Wars website.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

And of course, fans the world over took to Twitter to share their sorrow at the news. "Peter Mayhew," "Chewbacca," and "Chewie" dominated the trending terms, with more than 100,000 tweets just in the half-hour following the announcement.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Coming on the heels of Carrie Fisher's death in late 2016, the news was more than many fans' hearts could bear.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Chewbacca, of course, lives on. In The Last Jedi and the upcoming Rise of Skywalker, he is played by Finnish basketball star Joonas Viljami Suotamo -- who worked closely with Mayhew on The Force Awakens to mimic his style, right down to the famous furry head-tilt.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In lieu of gifts and flowers, fans are being asked to make donations to the Peter Mayhew Foundation.

Rest in peace, Peter. The Force of fandom will be with you, always.