We are very saddened to report that Erik Bauersfeld, who provided the voices of Bib Fortuna and Ackbar in two installments of the Star Wars saga, has passed away at the age of 93.
Bauersfeld had an extensive background in radio dramas as he served as the director of drama and literature department at the San Francisco based KPFA radio station. He eventually ended up at Lucasfilm working on a radio project when he got the chance to try out for roles in the Original Star Wars trilogy of films that were in production at the time.
Bauersfeld originally auditioned for Yoda, a role which ultimately went to Frank Oz. Later he would make his uncredited Star Wars debut in Return Of The Jedi, uttering one of the most iconic lines of Star Wars dialogue ever, "It's a trap", as Admiral Ackbar(The character was puppeteered on screen by Tim Rose). He also performed the huttese dialogue said by Jabba the Hutt's majordomo Bib Fortuna(who was portrayed on screen by Michael Carter). Bauersfeld would later return to voice Ackbar in the video games Star Wars: X-Wing (1993) and Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (2009). And, most recently, he once again voiced Ackbar when the character returned to the big screen last year in in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.
He also had small voice roles in A.I. Artificial Intelligence(2001) and Crimson Peak(2015).
Below you can check out a fascinating interview with Mr. Bauersfeld where he discusses how he got the parts of Ackar and Fortuna & much more:
Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Erik Bauersfeld.
Source: Topps Star Wars
