BroSheks! The actor who played BoShek has been identified!
On MakingStarWars.net’s “Now, This is Podcasting!” our listeners have jokingly taken to calling one another “BroSheks.” We like to kid around about the character’s importance to the Star Wars saga. We hoarded BoShek’s cards in Topps Star Wars Card Trader and we even have Randy wearing BoShek’s costume in the artistic depiction of the podcast crew. On the episode we recorded on Friday (released yesterday) I joked that BoShek is someone’s grandpa and they know their grandpa was BoShek. Today that appears to have actually happened.
I was at the panel in Celebration Anaheim that sent one man on a quest to solve the greatest of Star Wars mysteries: Who played BoShek? At the panel Pablo Hidalgo hosted, he went over the various details of the cantina characters. It was surpassing that one of the only humans in the entire cantina sequence was unknown.
Bill Jensen is an investigative journalist that has looked into some brutal stuff. I highly suggest reading his telling of the account in which he got the e-mail that confirmed it all:
“My Dad Mr Frances, Alfred, Basil Tomlin played the part of Boshek. Everyone new my Dad as Tom. Unfortunately my Dad passed away over 11 years ago now but it would be nice if we could get his name recognised as his claim to fame was his part as Boshek and a storm trooper in the first Star Wars film.”
Update: Thank you Dave (@Darth_Kindness) for cleaning up this awesome photo of Tom!
Go here and read the full account of how Billy Jensen found who played BoShek! Billy Jensen, we want to bestow upon you an award we just made up: The MakingStarWars.net BroShek Award for Investigative Excellence. Good shot, Jensen!
Mr. Frances Alfred Basil Tomlin. Amazing!