“Star Wars” Actor LeParmentier Dies, Not From Force Choke

The great Richard LeParmentier died yesterday. You don't know who that is? He played Admiral Motti in Star Wars. Still don't know who he is? He's the guy who has the brass Death Stars to make fun of Darth Vader and gets force choked for it. It's one of the most memorable scenes in the original trilogy, if you think about it. How many of us have imagined that we were strangling a colleague from across the room using only our minds? All of us have. It's an important moment in the film because as LaParmentier boasts about the technological powers of the Death Star, Vader reminds him that there are higher powers...that can kill you even better. It foreshadows Luke's later destruction of the Death Star using the Force. It also cues us in on how dangerous Vader really is. Sure, LaParmentier was never in anything anywhere nearly as successful as Star Wars. You might say that makes him a failure. But does it?

When I told you where you know him from it immediately came to your mind. He's eternal, even if he's not one with the Force because of his disturbing lack of faith. Most actors never get the chance to do anything substantial much less be in a memorable scene in one of the most beloved films of all time. It's like when people make fun of one hit wonders. It's easy to make fun of Dexy's Midnight Runners but "Come on Eileen" is a classic. Besides, how many hits have you had? Same with LaParmentier. Is it better to be forgotten or to live forever as the d-bag Darth Vader tries to kill for insulting his religion?