Bob Anderson

Bob Anderson, who has died aged 89, brought his prowess as a British Olympic fencer to the Hollywood screen as a stunt double for Darth Vader in two of the three original Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).

Bob Anderson with swords from Zorro and Lord of the Rings  

During fight scenes, Anderson pulled on Darth Vader's black helmet and plunged into action with his light sabre. While the arch-villain was played by a 6ft 6in former weightlifter, David Prowse, and voiced by James Earl Jones, Anderson's role was not publicised at first.

But Mark Hamill, the actor who played the series hero Luke Skywalker, said in an interview in 1983 that "Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader's fighting".

"It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told [the director] George [Lucas] I didn't think it was fair any more," Hamill told Starlog magazine. "Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It's ridiculous to preserve the myth that it's all done by one man."

It seems that Anderson was denied recognition for his work partly because David Prowse was praised so much for his portrayal that Lucas did not want to detract from the boost it gave to Prowse's career. But he was not particularly adept with a sword, and Anderson, as the film's fight director, was unable to get him to perform the necessary moves. So Anderson put on the costume and did the fighting himself.

Robert James Gilbert Anderson was born at Gosport, Hampshire, on September 15 1922. He joined the Royal Marines before the Second World War, teaching fencing aboard warships and winning several Combined Services titles in the sport.

During the war he served in the Mediterranean, and later trained as a fencing coach, representing Britain at the 1952 Olympics and at the 1950 and 1953 World Championships.
In the 1950s Anderson became the coach of Britain's national fencing team, a post he held until the late 1970s. He later served as technical director of the Canadian Fencing Association.
His first film work was staging fights and coaching Errol Flynn on the swashbuckler The Master of Ballantrae (1952).
Anderson went on to become one of the industry's most sought-after fight directors and sword masters, working on films including the James Bond adventures From Russia With Love (1963) and Die Another Day (2002); The Princess Bride (1987); The Legend of Zorro (2005); and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Bob Anderson is survived by his wife, Pearl, and their three children.

Bob Anderson, born September 15 1922, died January 1 2012