Alfie Curtis

Though he worked regularly on television, British actor Alfie Curtis enjoyed lasting pop culture fame for his brief turn as a malevolent bar patron in "Star Wars: A New Hope" (1977). Born in the London district of Stepney Green, Curtis appeared regularly in bit and supporting roles on British television throughout the 1970s, including multiple appearances on the comedies "Bowler" (LWT/ITV, 1973) and "The Larry Grayson Hour of Stars" (LWT, 1975). In 1977, an uncredited Curtis donned considerable makeup to play Dr. Cornelius Evazan in "Star Wars: A New Hope." The character - which according to Lucasfilm canonical lore, was a former surgeon reduced to consorting with criminal types due to his unorthodox medical practice - appeared briefly in the famed Mos Eisley Cantina sequence, where he and another creature - the walrus-like Ponda Baba - threaten Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker before Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) literally cuts off the dispute by severing Baba's arm with his light saber. The global popularity of the "Star Wars" franchise lent Curtis a minor degree of celebrity, and he continued to act on television and the occasional feature for the next decade. Most notable among these was as Charles, a kindly milkman in David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" (1980) and the comedy "The Wildcats of St. Trinian's" (1980), one of the numerous British films inspired by Ronald Searle's cartoons. Roles on television series like "The Gentle Touch" (ITV, 1980-84) and the long-running police drama "The Bill" (ITV, 1984-2010) preceded Curtis's final screen appearance on the historical drama series "Lost Empires" (Granada Television, 1986). He lived in Billericay, a town in the county of Essex, until the age of 87, when he died on November 30, 2017.