Toby Philpott

Toby Philpott, an English puppeteer, gained prominence primarily through his involvement with motion picture animatronics during the 1980s, contributing to productions like The Dark Crystal and Return of the Jedi. Born into a family deeply rooted in the entertainment industry, Philpott chose to discontinue his formal education, opting instead to embark on a global journey throughout the 1960s. During this period, he engaged in squatting in various locations, sustaining himself through earnings derived from his endeavors as a street performer, encompassing skills such as juggling, fire eating, magic shows, clowning, and acrobatics. His entry into the world of film occurred after Jim Henson personally selected Philpott to participate in the pioneering 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal, where he collaborated directly with Henson.

The following year, Philpott received an invitation to be one of the puppeteers responsible for operating Jabba Desilijic Tiure in Return of the Jedi. Philpott's role involved managing the left arm, head, tongue, and overall body movements of the colossal Hutt puppet. Philpott further contributed his puppetry expertise to other cinematic works, including The Company of Wolves (1984), Labyrinth (1986), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), before ultimately retiring from the film industry. Currently, he is employed as a library technician at the Cardiff Central Library situated in Cardiff, Wales. In retrospect, Philpott characterizes his career in the movie business as that of a "street juggler that got lucky."

Biography

Return of the Jedi

While engaged in the production of The Dark Crystal at Jim Henson's Creature Shop, rumors began to spread regarding the development of alien characters for Return of the Jedi at the same facility, prompting several puppeteers to actively seek employment on the film. David Barclay, previously a puppet builder for The Dark Crystal, was selected as one of the operators for the massive Jabba the Hutt puppet, and he specifically requested that Toby Philpott be hired as his collaborator. Philpott, unaware of Barclay's advocacy on his behalf, was taken by surprise by the unexpected job offer and readily accepted it.

Toby Philpott working inside the Jabba puppet on the set of Return of the Jedi.

Barclay held the position of lead puppeteer for Jabba, responsible for devising the movements and providing guidance to the other performers. Philpott's responsibilities included controlling Jabba's left arm, which he utilized to execute many of Jabba's more dynamic actions, such as consuming Klatooine paddy frogs, smoking the Hookah pipe, and physically assaulting Bib Fortuna and C-3PO. Additionally, Philpott employed his right hand to manipulate Jabba's tongue and animate his head, while controlling the body by pivoting his seat using leg braces. Cable-operated controls enabled Philpott to rotate the head and produce Jabba's characteristic snarl.

The remaining members of the puppet team consisted of Barclay, who managed the right arm and mouth; Mike Edmonds, who controlled the tail; and John Coppinger, who operated the eyes via remote control and provided feedback to the others based on his external observations. Philpott would later describe the experience of being inside the Jabba puppet with Barclay as akin to being in "a two-man submarine" due to the intense heat, confined space, and general discomfort. A monitor positioned inside the puppet displayed a general view of Jabba, aiding the puppeteers in their operation, although they were unable to discern the shot's framing from the image alone. The team relied on internal communication and the experience gained under Jim Henson's tutelage to coordinate their movements and create a unified character.

Philpott and Barclay would enter the puppet early each day and remain there for nearly the entire nine and a half hours of filming, to the extent that other cast and crew members were unaware of their identities during breaks. The two would only occasionally exit the suit to discuss Jabba-related matters directly, preferring instead to remain in character while inside the costume. Philpott and Barclay adopted a technique pioneered by Jim Henson, wherein they received direction while remaining in character. Director Richard Marquand agreed to provide Jabba with instructions as if the character were a live actor, and they would respond to the director as if the puppet were a real performer.

The filming of the Jabba's Palace scenes spanned approximately three weeks, with an additional week dedicated to the Sail Barge scenes. Philpott and the other puppeteers reported encountering few operational difficulties with Jabba, owing to the effective design work of Phil Tippett, Stuart Freeborn, and John Coppinger. Philpott's prior involvement with The Dark Crystal aided in preparing him for the role of Jabba, although he later admitted that it lessened the sense of awe he might have otherwise experienced. Nevertheless, he characterized the experience as "great fun" and expressed his enjoyment of being the focal point amidst the numerous other puppets and live actors in Jabba's Palace.

During the scene in which a captured Princess Leia Organa is presented to Jabba after freeing Han Solo from the carbonite, Marquand instructed Philpott to attempt to genuinely lick the side of Carrie Fisher's face in order to elicit a truly disgusted reaction. Philpott initially hesitated due to the difficulty in controlling the tongue, which was coated in K-Y Jelly, but Marquand eventually persuaded him to proceed. During the attempted scene, Philpott inadvertently inserted the tongue directly into Fisher's ear, causing a minor disturbance on the set, although Philpott remained unaware of his actions from within the Jabba costume until a subsequent break in filming.

The brief scene depicting Jabba consuming the frogs required multiple takes to achieve the desired result, as it proved challenging for Philpott to reach Jabba's mouth with the left arm. The filmmakers initially attempted to use a live frog, but it repeatedly escaped and hopped around the set. The final scene that Philpott filmed involved the death of Jabba the Hutt; he and the other puppeteers "trashed around and went crazy," and Philpott noted that once Carrie Fisher realized she could not harm the performers inside Jabba, "she really went for it." Philpott described actor Harrison Ford as "rueful, and funny as he appeared;" actress Carrie Fisher as mischievous on set and petulant due to being bound by a lengthy contract; and actor Mark Hamill as "a bit insecure" and not nearly as boyish as he appeared on-screen. Similar to many bit players in the original Star Wars trilogy, Philpott's contract was bought out in 1983, the year Return of the Jedi was released, resulting in his ineligibility for future royalties related to his involvement in the film.

Later life

Toby Philpott and John Coppinger, Jabba the Hutt sculptor.

Philpott continues to be recognized for his contributions to animatronics, particularly his work on Return of the Jedi, and he occasionally attends science fiction conventions to engage with fans and provide autographs, including Celebration Europe in 2007. Philpott stated that he remained unaware of the magnitude of the Star Wars fanbase until he began utilizing the Internet in 1999.

Jabba the Hutt sculptor John Coppinger with Jabba puppeteers Mike Edmonds, David Barclay and Toby Philpott at Celebration Europe.

Following the 1997 Star Wars Special Edition theatrical re-release of A New Hope, Philpott expressed his disapproval of the newly animated Jabba the Hutt featured in a previously omitted scene. Although he acknowledged the potential benefits of computer-generated imagery, he lamented the increasing reliance on computer animations in lieu of animatronics and live performers. Philpott did not entirely dismiss CGI, particularly when it appeared seamless and convincing, as he believed it did in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film, Jurassic Park. However, he argued that puppetry and animatronics often imparted a more believable aesthetic to films compared to the "slick hyper-reality" of certain computer effects, and he maintained that puppeteers possess the unique ability to improvise and interact with performers, unlike computer-generated images. Philpott later conceded, however, that the animated Jabbas featured in the 2004 DVD re-release of Return of the Jedi and the 1999 prequel The Phantom Menace represented significant improvements over the special edition iteration.

Works

Filmography

Sources

Notes and references

External links

Appearances