Jason Wingreen – the Brooklyn-born actor best known as the voice of Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back – has passed away at the age of 95.
Though he appeared in over 40 films and television series during his nearly five decades in the industry, Wingreen’s greatest legacy will always be his unforgettable role as one of the most iconic bad guys in the Star Wars universe.
In addition to voicing the most badass bounty hunter in a galaxy far, far away, Wingreen played the recurring character Harry the Bartender on the classic sitcom All in the Family.
He also appeared in such television classics as The Twilight Zone, Matlock, Star Trek and Seinfeld.
Interestingly, Wingreen was chosen by producers to voice Boba Fett after he unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Yoda.
It was not publicly known that Wingreen voiced Boba until 2000.
Wingreen says he enjoyed a “quiet, peaceful, unencumbered life” in the decades before he was outed as one of the franchise’s most beloved figures.
After the news of his role became public knowledge, the veteran actor lived his final years as a sought-after cult figure. Wingreen says the response from fans was immediate and “the letters just never stopped.”
Sources close to Wingreen say he passed away quietly at his home in Los Angeles on Christmas Day.
