The Man Who Uttered One Of Star Wars' Most Iconic Lines Has Passed Away

Film buffs the world over are in mourning following the news that voice actor and radio drama producer Erik Bauersfeld — who voiced now-famous character Admiral Ackbar in 1983's Return Of The Jedi and delivered the iconic line, 'It's a trap!' — has passed away at the age of 93.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bauersfeld's death was confirmed by his manager, Derek Maki, who told the outlet that the actor had passed away on Sunday morning (US time) at home in Berkeley, California.

Along with lending his voice to everyone's favourite Mon Calamari military man, Bauersfeld doubled up on Jedi roles by also voicing the tentacle-headed Bib Fortuna, the Twi'lek offsider/doorman-type found in the palace of Jabba The Hutt early in the film who falls prey to a spot of old-fashioned mind-trickery courtesy of Luke Skywalker.

It was radio drama that chiefly drew Bauersfeld's interests, however, having initially formed a now-decades-strong connection with Californian radio station KPFA way back in 1961, the network giving him his first reading break and going on to broadcast several of the earliest works produced by Bauersfeld's non-profit indie company, Bay Area Radio Drama (BARD).

Indeed, as THR notes, Bauersfeld regarded his foray into voice acting as "accidental" rather than a grand aspiration.

"I was working with Randy Thom on radio dramas at his technical quarters at Lucasfilm," Bauersfeld wrote. "One day Ben Burtt, sound designer for Star Wars, came by and asked if I would audition for a voice in the movie. It became two voices, Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna. It took little time and I was back to Randy for more radio O'Neill."

"It wasn't an occupation I had time to pursue, unfortunately," he continued, "but for me the art of sound design in filmmaking was brought more and more into how radio drama might be enhanced.

"This in turn brought very great association for my interest in locational radio drama, another instance of how one artistic field gains in partnership with another."

Bauersfeld reprised the role of Admiral Ackbar twice more following his 1983 appearance — once in 1993's Star Wars: X-Wing video game, and most recently in last year's Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

His other voice-acting credits come, according to IMDb, from 2001's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and last year's Crimson Peak, directed by Guillermo Del Toro, while Bauersfeld's own bio on his website also credits a role in 2007 flick The War Prayer, plus several narration stints for titles such as Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets, Niagara: Miracles, Myths & Magic, Yellowstone and Komoro.

Watch a 2012 San Francisco Chronicle interview with Bauersfeld — who, at 90, still hadn't seen the original Star Wars movie — below.