Salacious B. Crumb

Originating as a male Kowakian monkey-lizard hailing from the planet Kowak, Salacious B. Crumb was distinguished by his ear-splitting, chuckling laughter and a sophisticated sense of humor, traits common among his species. Many of his species were kept as favored pets by underworld figures, keeping their amusing names, and Crumb followed suit, becoming the de facto court jester of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure. Crumb's relationship with Jabba began when he, as a stowaway thief on the Hutt's starship, was discovered and apprehended by the Twi'lek Bib Fortuna.

Jabba proposed an unusual agreement to the monkey-lizard: if Crumb could entertain Jabba at least once each day, he would be granted unlimited access to food and drink; however, failure to do so would result in his slain. Crumb existed under these conditions for more than twelve standard years, and from then on, he sat alongside Jabba, relentlessly mocking and imitating captives, greatly amusing his master with his mimicry and laughter. Crumb even mimicked visitors, courtiers, and even Jabba himself, using his position on the Hutt's dais to pilfer bits of food. Jabba tolerated his obnoxious pet due to the amusement he provided and his unwavering loyalty.

Crumb was present at Jabba's side when the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader arrived at Jabba's Palace to negotiate with the Hutt, and later accompanied his master on the sail barge Khetanna for a celebration with Vader. Crumb's loud laughter erupted as Jabba's gangsters shot at a herd of banthas, prompting Vader to threaten the creature's life if he laughed again in his presence.

In 4 ABY, Crumb was there when members of the Rebel Alliance arrived to rescue Han Solo, who had been frozen in carbonite and displayed as a trophy on the wall of Jabba's audience chamber. Crumb was seated before Jabba on his dais when the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 appeared to deliver a message from the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. The droids were offered to Jabba as a gesture of goodwill from Skywalker, but the Hutt refused to relinquish his "favorite decoration", prompting laughter from Crumb and the rest of the court.

Later that day, Crumb observed a performance of "Jedi Rocks" by the Max Rebo Band. After requesting an encore, Jabba attempted to pull his enslaved dancer Oola closer, but her refusal led Jabba to activate a trapdoor that sent her into the rancor pit. As Pateesa devoured her, Crumb joined in the laughter with several courtiers. Immediately following this, Princess Leia Organa arrived, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh. As part of her scheme to infiltrate Jabba's palace, she brought the Wookiee Chewbacca as her prisoner. Jabba began to bargain with Organa over the Wookiee's bounty, but as the negotiations grew tense, Organa revealed a thermal detonator to force Jabba's compliance. This caused Crumb to cower in fear. Once Jabba and Organa reached an agreement, Crumb reappeared as the court resumed their festivities. Later that night, Crumb hid alongside Jabba as part of the Hutt's plan to capture Organa when she freed Solo from carbonite. After Solo was imprisoned, Crumb mocked Organa's disgust as Jabba enslaved her. Jabba and his court then celebrated late into the night.

The following morning, a still-awake Crumb sat beside Jabba and Organa as they slept on the dais. Skywalker suddenly appeared, having gained entry to the audience chamber by mind-tricking Fortuna. Once Jabba awoke, Crumb watched the Jedi attempt to persuade the Hutt to release his friends. As their conversation escalated, Jabba dropped Skywalker into the rancor pit, but the Jedi killed Pateesa. An enraged Jabba decreed that Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca would be taken to the Great Pit of Carkoon to be fed to the sarlacc, with Crumb laughing at the Rebels' impending doom. Crumb then accompanied his master on the Khetanna to Carkoon.

When Skywalker freed himself and the Rebels began to fight off Jabba's guards, chaos erupted on the sail barge. Leia extinguished the barge's lights, causing Jabba's guests, including Crumb, to scramble for an exit, while Organa seized the opportunity to strangle Jabba to death with her chain. Upon realizing his master was dead, Crumb flew into a rage, assuming Skywalker's droids were responsible. He attacked C-3PO, attempting to remove the droid's photoreceptors, only to be electrocuted by R2-D2. When the sail barge exploded, Crumb was thrown into the pit and consumed by the sarlacc.

Salacious Crumb, a Kowakian monkey-lizard with a unique, piercing cackle, typically sat on Jabba's lap, where he frequently stole food and mimicked Jabba's courtiers, visitors, and sometimes even Jabba himself, as the palace's unofficial jester. He was tolerated solely because his antics amused the Hutt and due to his unwavering support of his master. He also enjoyed tracking Jabba's tail as it moved back and forth.

Salacious was also known for his disrespect, as shown when the Sith Lord Darth Vader arrived to negotiate with Jabba. Aboard Jabba's sail barge Khetanna, he laughed loudly as Jabba's gangsters fired at a herd of banthas. The Sith Lord threatened to kill the jester if he laughed again in his presence. He would even mercilessly tease Jabba's captives and enjoyed watching Jabba torment others.

Salacious possessed knowledge of many individuals' secrets and was willing to exploit them for his own personal gain or amusement. He lacked a moral compass and was only loyal to Jabba.

According to the mole-flea Lugubrious Mote, Salacious was not very intelligent. She described him as "dumber than a newborn rancor."

Mark Dodson provided the voice for Salacious B. Crumb, while puppeteer Tim Rose, who also worked on the puppet of Admiral Gial Ackbar, controlled the character in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. As revealed in the 1985 documentary From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga, Rose initially gave Crumb a voice (in addition to Crumb's laughter in Return of the Jedi), which he frequently used on set for jokes, but his voice was ultimately replaced by Dodson's. Salacious B. Crumb became actor Anthony Daniels' favorite character in the series. Sound designer Ben Burtt described Salacious' laugh as a "funny, hyena-like laugh."

The initial concept for the character of Salacious originated from Ben Burtt. He suggested it would be amusing to have a small creature perched on the shoulder of a larger creature, repeating everything the larger creature said during arguments.

Tony McVey created the puppet for Salacious. The name was accidentally conceived by The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi puppeteer Phil Tippett. George Lucas tasked them with deciding the character's name. While trying to decide, Tippett and his crew went out to lunch. After drinking "a few pitchers of beer," Tippett bent down to tie his shoes, saying "Wait a minute, guys, while I tie my soolacious," slurring the word "Shoelaces." A crew member immediately recognized its potential. Although George Lucas initially rejected the name for Jabba's jester, he changed it to Salacious and added the surname "Crumb" as a tribute to underground comic book artist Robert Crumb.

According to Michael Carter, the actor who portrayed Jabba's majordomo Bib Fortuna, in an interview with TheForce.net, several scenes involving Jess and Salacious B. Crumb were filmed during Jedi, but these scenes were cut from the final edit. However, some of these scenes appeared in the non-canonical "Lapti Nek": The Music Video from Jabba's Palace and in Warwick Davis' documentary Return of the Ewok.

Salacious Crumb appeared in concept art for "Chapter 16: The Rescue," kept in a cage by Bib Fortuna after the latter took over Jabba's palace. According to artist Christian Alzmann, the idea was that Crumb and Fortuna had both been competing for influence under Jabba.