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Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) at 95

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Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) at 95

Old 01-07-16, 09:26 AM
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Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) at 95

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Wingreen provided the voice of Fett in the original version of The Empire Strikes Back, while Jeremy Bulloch was the on-screen actor underneath all that armor. The character only had four lines in Empire, and just a yell in Return of the Jedi. George Lucas had Wingreen's voice redubbed by Temuera Morrison (the on-screen actor who portrayed Jango Fett, Boba's father in Attack of the Clones) for continuity purposes for Empire's 2004 DVD release.

He had quite a career as an on-screen actor. Links to two articles about Wingreen below. Hard to believe that Harry the bartender (1976-83) in All in the Family/Archie Bunker's Place had such a menacing voice. Especially when you see that goofy look on his face.

Notable quote from Wingreen in the Chicago tribune article:

I have a little helmet that my son and daughter-in-law bought me on eBay and gave me as a birthday present, where if you press a little button my voice says, 'Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold.' That's my voice, and I don't get a single penny for that. So I have no love for George Lucas."

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/ar...t-95.html?_r=0

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...07-column.html

Last edited by digidoh; 01-07-16 at 09:50 AM.
Old 01-07-16, 09:43 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Rumor has it his final words were "I'm no good to you dead." With a kiwi accent.
Old 01-07-16, 09:55 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

George Lucas had Wingreen's voice redubbed by Temuera Morrison (the on-screen actor who portrayed Jango Fett, Boba's father in Attack of the Clones) for continuity purposes for Empire's 2004 DVD release.
I never knew this. That makes zero sense. All the continuity discrepancies between the original trilogy and the prequels and George decides the fix he wants to make is to make Boba sound exactly like the actor who played the character's father? Why not re-dub all Mark Hamill's lines with James Earl Jones while you're at it?
Old 01-07-16, 09:59 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

He was a clone so it wasn't just his father.

But other than that...fuck Lucas re-dubbing the guys work.
Old 01-07-16, 10:17 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by Decker
I never knew this. (Lucas having Wingreen's voice redubbed by Morrison)
I didn't know it, either, 'til today. Here's a link to sound clips of all four of the lines by Wingreen and one redone by Morrison.

http://www.bobafettfanclub.com/multimedia/audio/

Edit: In case it makes any difference, Boba Fett first appeared as an animated character in the otherwise live-action Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978, where he was voiced by Don Francks, who also voiced Fett in an episode of the animated series Star Wars: Droids.

Last edited by digidoh; 01-07-16 at 04:03 PM. Reason: Added animated appearance
Old 01-07-16, 10:24 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

I knew about the redubbing but I had thought it was Jeremy Bulloch that provided Boba Fett's voice.

Wingreen's voice was quiet but brooding and fit the character fine.
Old 01-07-16, 10:39 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

The most alarmin thing here is not that Lucas changed the voice, but that so many of you didn't know!
Old 01-07-16, 11:02 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by Mabuse
The most alarmin thing here is not that Lucas changed the voice, but that so many of you didn't know!
How would most know? The only reason I know is because I read it here when the Blu's came out, which I still refuse to buy.
Old 01-07-16, 01:10 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by Timber
How would most know? The only reason I know is because I read it here when the Blu's came out, which I still refuse to buy.
It's a bit of a stretch to assume that the people who angrily boycotted the DVD, Blu-Ray and digital releases (all of which include the Morrison re-dub) represent "most" of the post-VHS Star Wars home video audience.

In fact, it's quantifiably-false. Modified Star Wars has always done extremely well on home video. They've never had any trouble selling the modified versions.
Old 01-07-16, 01:42 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

But you're talking about the masses. How many of them would notice 4 dubbed lines of dialog?
Old 01-07-16, 02:19 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by Timber
How would most know?
Well there's about a thousand different FAQ's, blogs, youtube vids, and trivia sections that catalogue all of the special edition changes.
Old 01-07-16, 03:48 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by Mabuse
Well there's about a thousand different FAQ's, blogs, youtube vids, and trivia sections that catalogue all of the special edition changes.
And you think most people read those blogs before they go out and buy the movies?
Old 01-07-16, 06:45 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

I think most people watching the last two revisions (DVD and Blu/digital) either know about the change or realize they didn't hire a 19-year-old Temeura Morrison to dub the lines in 1980 in anticipation of him portraying Jango Fett 22 years later.

Now I don't think people who have watched the movies over the years are going to overlook the fact that a major character is suddenly speaking with a Kiwi accent.

So to bring this whole thing full-circle I agree with Timber, he makes a great point: the people who are unaware of the re-dubbing clearly aren't aware that the dubbing was re-done. I think we can all agree that that says a lot about Jason Wingreen's legacy as an entertainer.
Old 01-07-16, 07:52 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by Guru Askew
Now I don't think people who have watched the movies over the years are going to overlook the fact that a major character is suddenly speaking with a Kiwi accent.
A very minor character (who has been built up by fans over the years) with four, short, lines? It'd be hard NOT to overlook such a minor thing...! I would bet many people wouldn't notice if Fett's costume changed, uness they watched two versions side by side; fewer still will notice a voice change. Unless they're looking/listening for it, or are very big fans.

Originally Posted by Guru Askew
I think most people watching the last two revisions (DVD and Blu/digital)... know about the change...
For "most," I'd say "many" with the modifier "long-standing fans". Normal people neither know, nor care - or would never considee the possibility of retroactive edits! It's the fans and the website-readers who do/might know about SOME changes, but aside from the famous (Han/Greedo) and infamous/visually obvious (Hayden not Sebastian), few are that widely known. However obvious they seem to multi-watching fans.
Old 01-07-16, 07:59 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by digidoh
He had quite a career as an on-screen actor. Links to two articles about Wingreen below. Hard to believe that Harry the bartender (1976-83) in All in the Family/Archie Bunker's Place had such a menacing voice. Especially when you see that goofy look on his face.
It's a little sad that he seems most famous for four lines that have been mostly erased from commercially available copies of the film.
Old 01-07-16, 08:02 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by ntnon
A very minor character
I'd agree that Boba Fett's popularity doesn't really reflect his overall importance, and I wouldn't expect casual fans to notice the voice change, but I think calling him very minor character is a bit disingenuous. He plays a fairly significant supporting role in Empire, no matter how many lines he has. He even gets his own music cue, which not even Lando can say.
Old 01-07-16, 08:30 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Side note : Wouldn't Han Solo be just as good to Boba Fett if he were frozen in carbonite and dead? I mean if he's just going to be a living room decoration in Jabba's palace, does it really matter if he's alive or not under the surface?
Old 01-07-16, 09:07 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

I had no idea he was also from All in the Family/Archie Bunker's Place. Enjoyed both of those shows and know him better from them. RIP.
Old 01-07-16, 09:09 PM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Originally Posted by Decker
Side note : Wouldn't Han Solo be just as good to Boba Fett if he were frozen in carbonite and dead? I mean if he's just going to be a living room decoration in Jabba's palace, does it really matter if he's alive or not under the surface?
I just assumed that the bounty that Jabba put on his head stated that he needed to be brought in alive. The fact that Jabba decided to use him as wall art when he was delivered frozen is beside the point.
Old 01-07-16, 09:32 PM
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95 years old?! Well, at least he led a full life. RIP. I'd go watch the movie in memory of him, but his voice is no longer in it.
Old 01-08-16, 12:37 AM
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Re: Belated Obit: Jason Wingreen, original voice of Boba Fett has died (12/25/2015) a

Never thought about him not having any lines in ROTJ... just furthers how underused the character was. And it really is a shame his lines were replaced...

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