(Image by Dr. Case used under CC 2.0 via)
British actor Kenny Baker, best known as the puppeteer who operated from inside the costume of Star Wars’ R2D2, passed away yesterday. Baker performed in six of the Star Wars films. His death is the second this year by a dwarf actor who performed a fairly well-known, non-human character. Michu Meszaros, who appeared on screen as the walking version of the alien Alf, passed away in June.
A tribute to Meszaros’s work in Germany’s (highly regarded) Süddeutsche Zeitung sparked an outcry among the German dwarf community. The offending lines include:
Meszaros was only approximately 84 cm tall. Such little people were a topic of discussion even way back in Ancient Egypt.
Dwarfs give us a thrill because they emit a fairytale-like magic. Because they give the impression of an adult that’s been stuck a child’s body. Because they move just as funnily as the gawky Stan Laurel or Jacques Tati. Because their voices squeak as if they had inhaled helium.
Dwarfs’ pitch is usually higher than women’s. This is impressive to anyone who has overcome their own voice cracking.
A backlash went viral with the hashtag #keinZwerg (“not a dwarf”). While the sentiment of the movement was nothing but admirable, linguistic differences rendered the issue a bit more complicated for this bilingual woman with dwarfism. (More on the politics of the word “dwarf” here and here.)
And perhaps predictably, the lesson learned by the offenders remained superficial rather than deeply reflective: The Süddeutssche Zeitung issued an apology for using the word “Zwerg” and replaced it with “Kleinwüchsige” (“short-statured”) in the online version of the article.
Most tributes to Baker today have simply stated the facts of his life and death, with a quotation by George Lucas:
Kenny Baker was a real gentleman as well as an incredible trooper who always worked hard under difficult circumstances. A talented vaudevillian who could always make everybody laugh, Kenny was truly the heart and soul of R2-D2 and will be missed by all his fans and everyone who knew him.
I have written before about my visceral discomfort with the type of work Baker did, because such roles do not combat the stereotype of people with dwarfism as little more than props. But Lucas speaks of Baker’s work with the same respect the Jim Henson Company has expressed for the actors who have romped around in their outrageous costumes in order to portray the likes of the Ghost of Christmas Present and Big Bird.
Which begs the question: Can a career in circus performing and puppeteering based on body type elicit respect from the general public? Or will it be doomed to elicit smirks and giggles, from the open to the suppressed?
Painting On Scars 
Yes it can. Kenny was as good as it gets.His training did him proud.