Just a day after Darth Vader actor David Prowse died of complications from COVID-19 — Prowse, a bodybuilder, provided Vader’s physique, while James Earl Jones voiced the iconic antagonist — a thief attempted to steal the original Darth Vader helmet from the 1970s and 1980s Star Wars trilogy.
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TMZ shared all the details:
Law enforcement sources tell us … 38-year-old Frank Hebert was arrested Monday night after he allegedly broke into the Bad Robot Productions building in Santa Monica and made off with ‘Star Wars’ movie memorabilia … including Darth’s helmet.
We’re told cops responded to the scene and were told by security personnel that Hebert had been captured on surveillance video illegally entering the building through the rooftop, and casually walked out with a shopping cart full of stuff.
Our sources say cops quickly found a guy pushing a cart down the street not too far away, which we’re told was full of ‘Star Wars’ stuff — as in, original props used in the actual movies.
Fortunately, the Force was NOT with Hebert as he attempted his heist. He was booked by Santa Monica police, who captured this mug shot.
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In addition to Darth Vader’s iconic black helmet — which was originally used in George Lucas’s very first Star Wars film, Star Wars; Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) — Hebert had hidden a white stormtrooper helmet, also used as a movie prop, under a pile of Star Wars pillows.
There is no word on what prompted Hebert to attempt this elaborate theft, or of how he was able to enter the Bad Robot facility where it was kept. But this reporter suspects he was lured to the Dark Side, perhaps by Admiral Thrawn himself.
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