In Remembrance: Phil Brown

     Phil Brown, the character actor best remembered as Luke Skywalker’s craggy-faced Uncle Owen in the original Star Wars (1977) has passed away on February 9, 2006 in Woodland Hills, CA. He was 89.

     Born on April 30, 1916 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Brown majored in dramatics at Stanford University. After performing in several plays at New York’s Group Theatre, he relocated to Hollywood and helped to found the renowned theatre, the Actor’s Laboratory.

     Brown’s first film appearance was in the 1941 war drama I Wanted Wings with Ray Milland and William Holden. He also appeared in such films as the comedy The Impatient Years (1944), the musical State Fair (1945), the Ernest Hemingway adaptation The Killers (1946) and the thriller Obsession (1949).

     In 1951, Brown took a stab at directing, co-directing the docu-drama The Harlem Globetrotters with Will Jason. Unfortunately, any further chances at directing were cut down when Brown and other former members of the Actor’s Laboratory fell under the scrutiny of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Community. Although he was never a member of the Communist Party, Brown nevertheless found himself in blacklisted. Unable to find work in Hollywood, Brown relocated his family to London in 1953 and stayed there for the next forty years.

     While in England, Brown appeared on stage but still found time to act in such films as The Green Scarf (1954), The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), The Bedford Incident (1965), Tropic Of Cancer (1970) and The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976).

     In 1977, Brown appeared in his most famous role, that of Luke Sywalker’s Uncle Owen in the original Star Wars. His portrayal of Luke’s stern Uncle Owen, who tried to shield his nephew from the dangerous intergalactic war he is destined to be a part of.

     His last role was in the 1992 bio-pic Chaplin. Although retired from acting he spent several years appearing at fan conventions, talking about his career and signing autographs.