My Dad, Luke Skywalker
What it was like growing up the child of an icon
A new Star Wars movie came out last year, which means I’ve been seeing a lot of my dad lately. You’ve probably seen him, too, though you may not have realized it at the time. Maybe it was on a T-shirt or a poster, maybe in a recent article for Gizmodo.
It’s strange since my dad died in 1992.
But if you’re a science fiction fan, you’ve definitely seen him around. A few years ago, I even bought a computer that bore his image on the back.
You see, my old man was a hippie and an artist living in New Jersey in the 1970s. He was pals with the twin artists whose professional moniker was the Brothers Hildebrandt, and who were well-known for producing JRR Tolkien calendars, art for Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara series — and for creating this, the Star Wars ‘Style B’ poster for the UK release of the first film, in only thirty-six hours. My father was their friend, and like many of their friends, passed time posing for illustrations for them in their New Jersey studio. He posed as an elf, a hobbit — and Luke Skywalker.
