Krelman was a lonely humanoid who lived on the desert world of Tatooine. During the Galactic Civil War, after the destruction of the first Death Star, Krelman visited Chalmun's Cantina and became infatuated with Ackmena, a bartender who worked the nighttime hours. After much consideration, Krelman—who had practically given up on life—returned to the cantina days later and confronted the woman, professing his love for her and giving her flowers. She initially refused, but after all of the customers had left the cantina that night due to an imposed Imperial curfew, Krelman remained behind with Ackmena, who didn't mind his company anymore.
Krelman's talk with Ackmena was broadcast via the HoloNet by the Imperial Council as recommended viewing, with the intention being that Imperial citizens should strive to be of higher moral value than those on a world such as Tatooine.
Krelman was a humanoid, advanced in years, who resided on the backwater world Tatooine. With more digits on his hands than a Human, what made Krelman a unique cantina patron was the hole atop his head by which he drank.
One night sometime after the Battle of Yavin, Krelman visited Chalmun's Cantina in the city of Mos Eisley. He was quite taken with Ackmena, the silver-haired nightshift bartender. Her parting words—"Come back soon, I'll be waiting"—had a profound impact on Krelman. He left the cantina with a renewed sense of purpose and felt more alive than he had in years. He went home and contemplated the meaning of Ackmena's words, and he decided that the message was particularly relevant to his life. After much consideration, Krelman decided to return to the cantina a few nights later.
In order to reinforce the commitment of Imperial citizens, the Imperial Council recommended that all viewers—and required that all members of the Imperial forces—watch a live broadcast from Tatooine, due to the planet's lack of moral value. The broadcast began just before Krelman approached the Mos Eisley Cantina. He entered, dodging the bouncer Tork, who was escorting out an unruly Abyssin patron named Cyceyed. Flowers in hand, Krelman scoped the cantina and found Ackmena standing at the bar. Reassuring that his flowers were properly potent, Krelman approached her and prompted her for a conversation. He was indifferent and unconcerned with his choice of beverage; rather, he was focused on the woman to whom he spoke. Krelman regretted not returning to visit her until that point, having contemplated doing so previously a number of times. While Ackmena tended to other customers, Krelman downed his drink through his upper-cranial orifice.
Krelman takes a drink
As a gesture of his desire for Ackmena, he placed the flowers on top of his empty glass; Ackmena was flattered with the gift. Krelman reminded her of his name, grabbed her hand, and began to share his feelings: how he had lost all hope until he met Ackmena and thought she cared for him. He then spoke of love and, in a flicker of pseudoemotion, grabbed Ackmena in a fierce embrace. Taken aback, Ackmena had to explain to him that her words were not any sort of romantic proposition and that she had no time for such things. Unconvinced, Krelman took a seat next to Cebann Veekan at the bar and accepted another drink from Ackmena, complimentary this time. Krelman's hopes were dashed, however, when he heard Ackmena repeat, as Krelman called them, those "six simple little words" to another customer. He quickly became depressed as the realization of Ackmena's non-interest set in.
Ackmena let Krelman stay in the cantina after closing.
At this point, the Empire announced an immediate curfew for the entire Tatoo system. Ackmena tried to make the patrons leave and comply with the order, but none would. So Ackmena gave everyone one last round of drinks on the house and used her charm, through the song "Goodnight, But Not Goodbye," to convince the customers to leave, which they did—all except for Krelman, whom Ackmena let stay inside after she locked up. Krelman again presented the flowers to Ackmena, who acted less reluctant, while the Imperial transmission came to a close.
Krelman was a lonely man who had lived many years, through ups and downs, but had eventually come to believe it was all over—that was, until he saw Ackmena. Krelman interpreted a simple salutation to be an expression of love. Persistent, Krelman did not easily give up on pursuing Ackmena's affection.
Krelman was one of the three roles portrayed by comedian Harvey Korman in the 1978 The Star Wars Holiday Special, with the other two being the chef Gormaanda and Dromboid. Korman, known to television viewers from The Carol Burnett Show at the time, reportedly kept the cast and crew entertained during the lengthy shoot of the TV special.
Krelman's unique method of drinking through the top of his head was noted by StarWars.com as number nine on their "20 Terrifying Star Wars Moments" list in 2007. It was similarly noted as being odd by Alex Newborn in the article "I Have a Bad Feeling About This!," published in Star Wars Insider 106.