Boba Fett Actor Jason Wingreen Dies At 95

Jason Wingreen, the actor responsible for the voice of Boba Fett in ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ has passed away.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor died on Christmas Day at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95 years old.

Though best remembered for providing the voice of the ‘Star Wars’ bounty hunter - a hugely popular character, despite his limited screen time - Wingreen also had a long and illustrious career as a character actor.

Born in Brooklyn in 1920, Wingreen served in World War II before co-founding New York’s Circle in the Square theatre company.

He would go on to garner 187 screen credits between 1955 and his retirement in 1994, including such TV shows as ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ‘The Outer Limits,’ ‘The Fugitive,’ ‘The Untouchables,’ and later ‘Matlock’ (below), amongst many others.

Wingreen was cast in the first ‘Star Wars’ sequel - getting a grand total of four lines - after initially auditioning to voice Yoda. Actors John Morton and Jeremy Bulloch were in the iconic suit.

Wingreen’s work reportedly took all of ten minutes, and Boba Fett was given no lines in follow-up ‘Return of the Jedi.’ Controversially, Wingreen received no screen credit or residual payments, despite his voice reportedly being used on some Boba Fett action figures.

Many fans were also displeased when Wingreen’s lines were later redubbed by Temeura Morrison (who played the character’s father Jango Fett in ‘Attack of the Clones’) on ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ special edition DVD.

We extend our deepest sympathies to all Wingreen’s family and friends.

Picture Credit: Lucasfilm/Disney, Viacom

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