Erik Bauersfeld (June 28, 1922 â€" April 3, 2016) was an American
radio dramatist and voice actor. His most notable role was providing
the voices of Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna in the third film of the
original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983), the former of
which he subsequently reprised in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015).Bauersfeld was attracted to radio work at a very young age.
During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. His
post-secondary education included time studying at Cooper Union in New
York, and then at the University of California, Berkeley, where he
concentrated on aesthetics and painting.Bauersfeld was teaching at the
San Francisco Art Institute, when he began working at Pacifica Radio
station KPFA-FM in Berkeley, beginning in 1961. He served as the
Director of KPFA's Drama and Literature Department for 31 years.
Outside of radio, he dabbled in voiceover work in films and video
games.Bauersfeld was working at Lucasfilm on a radio project, with
sound designer Randy Thom, when eventually he was approached by Star
Wars sound designer Ben Burtt. Burtt asked him to read for the part of
Ackbar. According to Bauersfeld, he was shown a picture of Ackbar and
instantly came up with the character's voice. Ackbar's lines,
including the memorable exclamation "It's a trap!", took an hour for
Bauersfeld to record. He then spent an additional 30 minutes reading
for the voice of Bib Fortuna, who was Jabba the Hutt's majordomo. Both
of his vocal parts were added to the finished production of Return of
the Jedi, but Bauersfeld received no screen credit at the time.
radio dramatist and voice actor. His most notable role was providing
the voices of Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna in the third film of the
original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983), the former of
which he subsequently reprised in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015).Bauersfeld was attracted to radio work at a very young age.
During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. His
post-secondary education included time studying at Cooper Union in New
York, and then at the University of California, Berkeley, where he
concentrated on aesthetics and painting.Bauersfeld was teaching at the
San Francisco Art Institute, when he began working at Pacifica Radio
station KPFA-FM in Berkeley, beginning in 1961. He served as the
Director of KPFA's Drama and Literature Department for 31 years.
Outside of radio, he dabbled in voiceover work in films and video
games.Bauersfeld was working at Lucasfilm on a radio project, with
sound designer Randy Thom, when eventually he was approached by Star
Wars sound designer Ben Burtt. Burtt asked him to read for the part of
Ackbar. According to Bauersfeld, he was shown a picture of Ackbar and
instantly came up with the character's voice. Ackbar's lines,
including the memorable exclamation "It's a trap!", took an hour for
Bauersfeld to record. He then spent an additional 30 minutes reading
for the voice of Bib Fortuna, who was Jabba the Hutt's majordomo. Both
of his vocal parts were added to the finished production of Return of
the Jedi, but Bauersfeld received no screen credit at the time.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.