FROM A GALAXY NOT SO FAR AWAY

Dawsons auctioneers is excited to offer the opportunity to own a unique piece of Star Wars history, straight from the source! This October they will present the private collection of Tim Rose, the celebrated American animatronic designer,puppeteer and actor responsible for bringing the character of Admiral Ackbar to life in Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, as well as the characters of Salacious B. Crumb and Sy Snootles in Return of the Jedi and Lieutenant Shollan in Rogue One, in the much-loved Star Wars motion-picture phenomenon. The collection will be offered in Dawsons Entertainment, Memorabilia and Vintage Posters sale on Wednesday 30th October, 2024 and will include rare and personal items accumulated during Tim’s career whilst working on the Star Wars films, many of which are signed by the cast and all at affordable prices.

American-born Tim Rose (b. 1956) first attended drama classes and created a puppet-booth show, Prince George and the Dragon (similar to a Punch & Judy show), so he could design and mould puppets and write the scripts. This fascination prompted him to reach out to Jim Henson (1936-1990), the American actor, puppeteer, animator and filmmaker who had achieved global acclaim as the creator of The Muppets. This led to Tim moving to the UK to work with Jim on the highly popular Muppet Show on British TV. Reminiscing he says: “What I actually loved the most was starting from a design concept and carrying it on all the way through to performance with the actual creature that I’d built myself.”

A laminated Star Wars poster from the ‘Celebration II’ fan convention event featuring Tim’s character Admiral Ackbar

in a scene from Return of the Jedi. Estimate £200-£300

It was here that Tim got to know the American filmmaker George Lucas (b. 1944), the creator of Star Wars, as he was a friend of Jim’s and would frequently visit him at his studio. George had formed Lucasfilm Ltd and Tim began working with him – a move that would lead him to leave an indelible mark on the Star Wars franchise. Looking back, he says: “I was just the right age that when the very first Star Wars movie came out, me and my buddies were teenagers. We would sit in the back of the cinema and pretend to fly X-Wings. We watched it over and over again. Two movies later, I’m saying good morning to Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, walking past the Millennium Falcon to go into my own spaceship – every day of it was fabulous. I don’t have a favourite story. I enjoyed the entire process from beginning to end.”

Recalling a memory of working with Harrison Ford on Return of the Jedi Tim tells us they were filming a scene set at Jabba the Hut’s palace, shortly after Han Solo (Harrison Ford) has been rescued from a block of carbonite in the dead of night by a disguised Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and they kiss as they reunite. At this point the weird and wonderful alien characters of Jabba’s palace (played by Tim as Salacious Crumb and other puppeteers), reveal they were awake and exclaim “We saw you kissing! We saw you kissing!” This did not go down well with Ford who walked over to the Director and flagged that the alien characters screaming would cause problems in the sound edit.

A collection of carded Star Wars Admiral Ackbar figures, including three from Force Awakens, one Bend-Ems

and two novelty examples, all signed by Tim Rose. Estimate £200-£300

Tim continues: “So the Director, Richard Marquand (1937-1987) came over and said can we do the scene again but make no noise, which we did. It was then time for a break for the cast, but we as the alien characters couldn’t go for a break as it would take too much time to get our costumes off. The sound man had gone for tea but had forgotten to turn off my microphone which was connected to a speaker out in the main acting area. It was during the break that Mr. Marquand came over and sat next to me. He asked what I thought of the last take and I replied “The take went well, but this Harrison guy, is he going to talk during our laugh? Because it’s really putting me off.” My words went booming out over the floor on the speaker and the whole crew began to laugh at the cheekiness of what I’d said in character. Everyone that is except for Harrison, who left the set and refused to return until “That Asshole who said that was fired off the production.”


An Assistant Director came under the set to tell me that they were going to have to fire me. I pleaded with him to let me apologize, but he said Mr. Ford was furious and only my head would do. So, I asked who was going to do my puppet for the rest of the filming. He said, “Well you are, but if anyone asks you, you have to tell them that you are the new guy!” On the call sheets for the rest of the filming it always said, “Salacious Crumb – The New Guy.”

Among the highlights in the sale is a 1980s novelty ‘Yoda’ cap, signed by Frank Oz (b. 1944), the voice and puppeteer behind Yoda, alongside an ‘R2-D2’ cap signed by the late actor Kenny Baker (1934-2016), who brought the character to life. Among other caps is a Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi cap signed by Tim Rose himself, along with another signed by Brian Herring (b. 1970), the puppeteer of ‘BB-8’ in the recent Star Wars trilogy. The group estimate is £500-£700.

A laminated Star Wars poster from the ‘Celebration II’ fan convention event in May 2002 features Tim’s character Admiral Ackbar in a scene from Return of the Jedi. Signed by Tim, it was used as a display piece behind Tim’s desk, where he met fans and signed autographs at the convention. It carries an estimate of £200-£300.

A collection of carded Star Wars Admiral Ackbar figures, including three from Force Awakens, one Bend-Ems and two novelty examples, all signed by Tim Rose are also on offer (estimate £300-£500). A collection of nine original Star Wars ‘Return of the Jedi’ magazines dating from 1983-1984 includes the January 1984 issue, which featured Tim’s character Admiral Ackbar on the cover. All signed by Tim Rose they carry an estimate of £200-£300.

A collection of original film scripts used by Tim Rose. Estimate £400-£600

A boxed ‘Attakus Collection’ limited edition model of Salacious Crumb, the ‘court jester’ of Jabba the Hutt played by Tim in Return of the Jedi dates from 2004. Signed by Tim on its plinth, it carries an estimate of (£400-£600).  A collection of original film scripts used by Tim comprise: The Dark Crystal, Death Fish (released as Fierce Creatures), The Muppets…Again, Doctor Who, Series 8 Episode 1 (the first Peter Capaldi episode) and Dinosaurs – Endangered Species, together with a photocopied set of storyboards from The Dark Crystal. The group estimate is £400-£600.

Commenting on the sale of his treasured collection, Tim said: “As I held the items I’d put into auction, I realised just how many memories they all contained within them. The urge to say “Nope, I’ve changed my mind I’m taking them all back home with me was very strong.” I am looking forward to seeing some of my personal collection being offered for sale with Dawsons Auctions.”

Dawsons auction specialist Denise Kelly said: “We are thrilled Tim Rose has entrusted his personal collection with us here at Dawsons. Tim’s items coming to auction with such unique provenance to many iconic movies will offer collectors a great opportunity to own a piece of history from the late 70s / early 80s blockbuster era, when the Star Wars franchise took the world by storm.”

To browse the catalogue, see link here: https://www.dawsonsauctions.co.uk/auction/details/dawson10220-entertainment-memorabilia-including-posters/?au=254