"Complications with Covid-19": "Star Wars" actor Gary Friedkin is dead

In "Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" Gary Friedkin embodied an Ewok.

"Complications with Covid-19": "Star Wars" actor Gary Friedkin is dead

In "Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" Gary Friedkin embodied an Ewok. Now the Hollywood star has died at the age of 70. "Gary lived every day to the fullest," reads the actor's obituary.

Gary Friedkin is dead. As has only just become known, the actor died on December 2nd at the age of 70 in Youngstown, Ohio. This was announced by the family of the deceased. Friedkin played an Ewok in the classic 1983 sci-fi film Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. As "The Hollywood Reporter" reports, he also fought in 1982 in the cult film "Blade Runner" as a member of a motorcycle gang against Harrison Ford.

Friedkin's obituary reads: "Due to complications from Covid-19, he endured a difficult three and a half weeks in the Intensive Care Unit at St Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital." His brother Alan and sister-in-law Carol were by his side in his final hours.

Friedkin was born on November 23, 1952 in Youngstown. He appeared in three episodes of the long-running US sitcom Happy Days (1974-1984). He previously made his feature film debut in 1981's Hollywood Secret Mission. Friedkin most recently appeared in Mother's Day: Love Is No Child's Play (2016) opposite Jennifer Aniston.

"Gary lived every day to the fullest, making his family and numerous friends laugh non-stop," reads the actor's obituary. The family further writes that Friedkin was a "born entertainer".

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Friedkin, being of short stature, was an active member of Little People of America and attended many conventions where he connected with people in the United States and introduced others to the organization. "Though Gary might have been small, he was a giant among his family and friends," they said.

A scholarship was established in his name at Youngstown State. People with disabilities thus have a chance of receiving support in the artistic field.