Galaxy's Edge
The Star Wars films made household names out of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and others. But sometimes, people who were already famous wanted to be in Star Wars even if they had to take a bit part to do it. Far beyond the main cast, these seven performers all appeared on the periphery of the franchise, most of them filming only a single scene each. By this year's Star Wars Day ("May the 4th be with you"), see if you can name all seven of them. Use of the Force is optional.
Bea Arthur
publication date: Saturday, May 4, 2024
category: 
Theater
clue: Beloved by fans for her many years on Broadway, as well as television appearances as a liberal housewife in the 1970s and a Miami roommate in the 1980s, she is nonetheless overlooked for her greatest role of all, a singing bartender forced to close her cantina early due to a planet-wide curfew.
explanation: Arthur starred in Maude, The Golden Girls, and The Star Wars Holiday Special. more…
intended difficulty: medium
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Richard Slominsky, and Erik Bates
Clint Howard
publication date: Friday, May 3, 2024
category: 
Television
clue: He's been making one-off appearances in the other Star-based media franchise since he was a child, as well as in the films made by his famous actor-writer-director brother. One of the latter included a solo appearance in the Star Wars series.
explanation: Howard, younger brother of Ron Howard, has made unrelated appearances in many episodes of Star Trek dating back to in the 1960s. He played a pit boss in Solo. more…
intended difficulty: medium
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Richard Slominsky, and Erik Bates
Greg Proops
publication date: Thursday, May 2, 2024
category: 
Comedy
clue: With two independent heads and personalities, his Star Wars character probably often wondered whose line it was.
explanation: Proops, best known for improv comedy and his appearances in Whose Line Is It Anyway?, played Fode, half of the two-headed pod race announcer in The Phantom Menace, alongside Scott Capurro as Beed. They reprised the character in video games. more…
intended difficulty: medium
solved by: Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Richard Slominsky, and Erik Bates
Diahann Carroll
publication date: Wednesday, May 1, 2024
category: Television
clue: None of her nominations for five Emmys, three Golden Globes, two Grammys, and one Oscar were for playing a holographic sex fantasy.
explanation: Carroll played the holographic Mermeia in The Star Wars Holiday Special. more…
intended difficulty: hard
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, Samir Mehta, and Erik Bates
Jason Sudeikis
publication date: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
category: Television
clue: This SNL veteran wasn't very familiar with soccer as coach Ted Lasso, but that character was still more competent than his scout trooper who couldn't even guard a baby in The Mandalorian.
intended difficulty: very easy
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Richard Slominsky, and Erik Bates
Treat Williams
publication date: Monday, April 29, 2024
category: 
Movies
clue: This actor made a snack out of lead roles in films as diverse as The Substitute 2, Hair, Deep Rising, 1941, and Dead Heat, but for fun, he went uncredited as an unnamed background extra in The Empire Strikes Back, playing a rebel on the planet Hoth.
intended difficulty: easy
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Richard Slominsky, and Erik Bates
Simon Pegg
publication date: Sunday, April 28, 2024
category: Movies
clue: When he had a break from fixing the Enterprise's engines, running from zombies in London, and helping Ethan Hunt pull off impossible missions, he played a junk boss who resembled a blobfish in The Force Awakens.
explanation: Pegg had starred in the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible films as well as Shaun of the Dead. more…
intended difficulty: very easy
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Richard Slominsky, and Erik Bates
trivia: Pegg had a second role in Star Wars, voicing a bounty hunter in one episode of The Clone Wars.
