Star Wars Original Trilogy Trivia

Inspired by today's Medium Large:

* First Yoda clearly Beaker from The Muppet Show.

* When Darth Vader cuts down Ben Kenobi in Star Wars, actor Alec Guiness can be seen mouthing the words "Thank the fuck God this is over."

* George Lucas was so afraid Princess Leia may come across as sexy that he not only strapped down Carrie Fischer's breasts but also momentarily considered recasting the role with George Segal.

* Original recording of Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) obviously influenced by Parliament/Funkadelic.

* The Stormtroopers were first conceived as "completely blind" to explain their remarkable inability to kill any of the major characters, even at close range.

* Star Wars was based not only on the fillm The Hidden Fortress by Akira Kurosawa but also on a Gary Marshall-penned Love, American Style episode in which a boy and a girl are about to consumate their love only to realize that they're twins and their father is Josef Stalin.

* Initial FX clip of Death Star sequence left studio wondering why paper airplanes were attacking a spray-painted kickball.

* The working title for Episode VI was not Revenge of the Jedi but rather Kenner Presents the Ewoks.

* Although he kept the olive complexion and hitman occupation, Lucas opted at the last minute to change the name "Guido" to "Greedo." It was the first of his many racially-sensitive decisions.

* When Yoda says, "No, there is another" in The Empire Strikes Back he was referring to R2-D2.

* Due to cost overruns, the Death Star compactor scene almost became the grisly denouement to Star Wars.

* Jabba the Hutt was originally called "Luca Brasi."

* Boba Fett's brief screen time was explained by making the character Orthodox Jewish and stating much of the action occurs on a Saturday.

* In 1998 Lucas considered re-re-releasing Star Wars as A Very Special Episode IV, in which the characters all learn a valuable lesson about drug abuse and the importance of friendship.

* The Cantina band was a last minute replacement for Little Feat.

* Preliminary sketches for the Imperial AT-AT Walkers featured eight tentacles, roller skates and a single cap gun before Lucas settled on a slightly more practical miltary device.

* It wasn't until the premiere of Star Wars that actor David Prowse learned his voice had been dubbed over by James Earl Jones, that Darth Vader was in fact the bad guy and that his big musical number had been cut.

* Lucas's insistence that Lando Calrissian lost the Millenium Falcon in a back alley dice game was resoundingly overruled by studio executives.

* The Star Wars novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye was quickly made into a film in early 1978 and subtitled Episode IVa, but its low-budget, contradictory storyline and almost slavish dependence on Paul Lynde's improv skills ensured it would never be released.

* George Lucas's nickname for Mark Hamill on the set was "Prop 1."

* Lawrence Kasdan's script revelation that Han Solo and Chewbacca were "more than just friends" scared the crap out of everyone at Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox and PETA.

* Actor Anthony Daniels remains in C-3PO's armor to this day, having never known another person's touch.