On the set of the Special Edition of The Empire Strikes Back, Howie Weed can be seen reading Star Wars Insider 29. Harold "Howie" Weed, born on December 23, 1962, is an artist at Industrial Light & Magic who also occasionally acts in the Star Wars universe. For the 1997 Special Editions, he portrayed several background characters, including Ketwol and Melas, as well as the Wampa ice creature.
Harold Weed began his work on the Special Editions of the Star Wars original trilogy in 1997. He served as the main creature creator for the Special Editions of both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, designing the new monsters featured in those versions of the films.
Similar to Rick Baker before him, Weed took on acting roles as some of the characters he created. Notably, in A New Hope, he appears in the cantina as both Ketwol and Melas, with the same puppet being utilized for both roles. During the production of The Empire Strikes Back, Weed was selected to wear his own Wampa Ice Creature costume for the new scenes. Des Webb was not asked to return, as this part did not require a tall actor anymore. Consequently, Weed primarily plays the "gory Wampa" in the Special Edition.
Weed's involvement with the Star Wars saga continued with Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, where he contributed as a construction artist and digital model development artist for ILM.
- He worked as a recording technician for Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- " Renewing the Universe " article in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 10
- Star Wars Insider 33
- Harold Weed's Wikipedia page
- Howie Weed's page on the Internet Movie Database
- Howie Weed (Creature Maker) - an interview by Dennis Pellegrom featured on Star Wars Interviews in May of 2010 (this content is now outdated, and has been archived from its original location on December 9, 2022)