(Fort Worth, Tx) —  The man who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies is dead at the age of 74.

Peter Mayhew’s family says he passed away on April 30th at his home in Boyd.  Prior to Wise County, Mayhew lived in Granbury.  In 2005, the British born actor became a U.S. citizen at a ceremony in Arlington

Mayhew played Chewbacca in five Star Wars movies, from the 1977 original to The Force Awakens in 2015.  In a statement, is family said Mayhew put his heart and soul into playing the role of the tall, furry Wookiee co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon.  Harrison Ford, who played Chewbacca’s partner Han Solo in the films, said in a statement that he loved Mayhew.  He called him a kind and gentle man who invested his soul into playing the beloved Wookie.

There’s no word on the cause of his death.  leaves behind a wife and three children, as well as millions of devoted Star Wars fans.