What have Star Wars and Jabberwocky got in common?

The answer: the actor Dave Prowse who played Red Herring and Black Knights in Terry Gilliam's 1977 film, Jabberwocky and then went on to play Darth Vader in Star Wars.

He was present at the recent opening of Rebecca Grant's art exhibition which I was also attending, so, seeing as I am a bit of a Gilliam fan to say the least, it was quite a coincidence!

Me with Dave Prowse (Darth Vader)

He told me about his scene in Jabberwocky where he half falls off a horse; his foot gets stuck in the stirrup and he gets dragged quite some distance by the horse. It nearly killed him, but he said Terry Gilliam loved it and it stayed in the film. Here's the trailer. (He's the one in full armour riding a horse):

What a thoroughly nice chap he was too. His presence created tangible excitement at the exhibition, and he was more than happy to pose for photos, sign autographs and answer everyone's questions about the filming of Star Wars and about playing Darth Vader.

Dave is currently making public appearances to promote his book "Straight From The Force's Mouth", so if you'd like to meet him, click here: http://www.darthvader-starwars.com/appearances.htm

By the way, a month or so ago, whilst visiting the Kamini Beauty Salon, I bumped into supermodel and actress Lily Cole who played a lead role in Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" - so this Terry Gilliam coincidence thing is pretty amazing don't you think, especially when you take into account all the unbelievable coincidences I have already had with his 1985 movie "Brazil"...