A New Hope opens with major characters, C-3P0 and R2-D2; The Empire Strikes Back begins with Luke Skywalker himself astride a tauntaun; and Return of the Jedi opens with two guys you probably still don’t know nor have ever bothered to search for on Wookieepedia.
Thankfully, like every other Star Wars character who so much as blinks in the background, these two pilots have their own official names and backstories.
If you want to impress your nerdy soul mate the next time you both have a Star Wars movie night, then it’s time to learn more about the only two pilots in the movies’ history who still don’t have their own action figures.
Captain Yorr
Hailing the Death Star’s command station in the opening minutes of Jedi, Captain Yorr might seem a little young to be a captain.
This is because, after that little son-of-a-bantha, Luke Skywalker, destroyed the first Death Star, the Imperial Navy had to push their cadets into service more quickly in order to make up for all the lost souls who were aboard.
In addition to making captain due to the misfortunes of others (and looking badass in a black uniform) Yorr was also a test pilot for the Navy’s TIE fighter prototypes and held membership in the dreaded Onyx Squadron, a starfighter squad with a name so cool, you wish it was the name you’d chosen for your paintball team.
Behind the Scenes
Yorr was played by American actor Jasper Jacob. According to one interview, Jacob spent a grand total of two days working on Return of the Jedi, and even got to share Mark Hamill’s car to and from the set.
Though getting to share Mark Hamill’s car is probably the coolest story ever told in the world, Jacob went on to reveal that he kept flubbing his lines on set, possibly due to his nerves.
The scene therefore required many takes to get right, but director Richard Marquand proved he was an awesome Jedi Master and stayed patient with Jacob the whole time. What a guy.
Colonel Jendon
Q: How many guys can say they were the first to fly a TIE Defender?
A: One, Colonel Jendon.
Q: How many actors can say they had not one, but two roles in Return of the Jedi?
A: The guy who played Colonel Jendon.
While you first flew the TIE Defender in the game Star Wars: TIE Fighter, the colonel was the first to pilot one of these ships in the Star Wars universe.
Alot of good it did him, as Captain Yorr got all the cool lines of dialogue and the much more experienced Jenden had to sit and listen to the little squirt for who-knows-how-many parsecs.
The colonel was also a member of the overachieving Onyx Squadron and a former test pilot himself. He also adds 3 to “power” and 1 to “maneuver” in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, so don’t let his silent nature make you think he couldn’t kick some Rebel ass.
Behind the Scenes
Colonel Jendon was played by actor Mike Havord. On the set of Jedi, someone apparently thought he rocked the Imperial uniform look, since he also appears as Rear Admiral Chiraneau, one of the officers “eagerly” awaiting Vader’s arrival.
Though the pilots of Vader’s Lambda-class shuttle only have about 7 seconds of screen time, they’ll always remind us that no matter how small a part you had, how many lines of dialogue you spoke, or what your opinion of George Lucas is, if you had a role in a Star Wars film, we’d pay for a picture with you at comic-con.
Watch your movies. Wear your movies.
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