Bob Anderson

Robert James Gilbert Anderson (15 September 1922 – 1 January 2012) was an English athlete who represented Great Britain in the fencing at the 1952 Summer Olympics.^[1] He choreographed the sword fights for many movies including Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.^[2]

He was born in Hampshire on 15 September 1922, and during World War II he was a member of the British Royal Marines. He used his sword fighting skills in many movies starting with The Master of Ballantrae, based on the book by Robert Louis Stevenson.^[1] During the filming he accidentally stabbed Errol Flynn in the leg.^[1] Anderson was the person dressed as Darth Vader in the sword fights in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.^[2] He also arranged the sword fights in all three of the Lord of the Rings movies. Other movie credits included the James Bond movies, From Russia With Love and Die Another Day, The Princess Bride, The Three Musketeers (1993 movie), The Mask of Zorro, and The Legend of Zorro.^[1]

References

1. Weber, Bruce (2 January 2012). "Bob Anderson, Sword-Fight Choreographer, Dies at 89 - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. New York. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
2. "Man behind Darth Vader swordfights dies". ABC News. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.