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By: Ian Trussler, Star Wars Autograph Collection UK Correspondent

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Trussler with Noar at Collectormaina Milton Keynes

In the last couple of months I have had the pleasure of meeting two elusive Star Wars signers that have long been on mine and no doubt other peoples lists of "need to get" autographs.

First up was Amanda Noar, for those who don't know, Amanda played the role of Jess the blond haired female, seen during the scenes set in Jabba's Palace during Return of the Jedi.

Amanda was appearing at Collectormania in Milton Keynes in the UK on 13.June 2015 and this was her first ever show.

Amanda was very happy to be doing her first show although she told me she had signed autographs for people before when they had sent her pictures in the mail, she was amazed that people bothered to track her down.

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Amanda explained to me the reason that everytime you see her on screen or in pictures she is always next to Bib Fortuna. Amanda said the main reason she was employed and subsequently put in costume was that her job was actually to operate air pumps connected to Micheal Carter (Bib Fortuna). The head piece that was worn by Micheal was built with small air bags underneath the bulbous lumps on his head, and these had connecting tubes that ran down his costume. Amanda's role was to stand next to Micheal and pump the air into the head piece to make the lumps pulsate. Sadly this effect never really showed on screen but does explain why she is always next to Bib Fortuna.

Amanda very much enjoyed her time on the movie, about three weeks in total, she struck a friendship with Femi Taylor while on set and was quite enamoured of Harrison Ford during filming, as were most of the females on set. I asked Amanda if she knew who played the other female extra, the one wearing a similar wig to hers but black, unfortunately she didn't know. However she has very fond memories of her time on Jedi and is proud to be a part of The Saga. She hopes to do more shows in the future. Unfortunately she had a very poor selection of photos available at her table but I had taken a great shot of her with Bib Fortuna that was put together by a friend of mine. She really liked the picture I had, so hopefully she will get some better shots for any future shows she does.

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Spight and Trussler in Chiswick

My next first time signer was Hugh Spight who played one of the primary Gamorrean Guards in Jedi alongside Simon Williamson. Hugh is incorrectly credited on the movie as Hugh Spirit.

Hugh was attending Fandom Films Signing Exrtravaganza in Chiswick London UK on 22.08.2015. This was Hugh's first ever signing event and he was signing for a limited time of less than two hours.

Hugh was someone I had wanted to meet for a while, ever since a had a long talk with Simon Williamson a few years ago and he told me that basically whenever you see two Gamorrean Guards on screen together it's him and Hugh Spight. However Simon told me that Hugh was not fond of Star Wars and wanted nothing to do with it and was living on a farm somewhere.

The event Hugh was attending was primarily a Dr. Who event but the show publicity made no mention that there were any restrictions on what guests would sign.

However my meeting with Hugh was not without it's drama as he initially said he wouldn't sign my Star Wars items and made comments such as "If I knew it was Star Wars I wouldn't have come" Anyway after explaining I had only come to see him and then speaking with the event organiser who subsequently spoke to Hugh, he did eventually agree to sign my pictures.

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After the difficult start Hugh was very pleasant to me and we chatted for a while and he gave me some interesting information I had not previously known. Hugh confirmed what Simon Williamson had told me that when you see two Gamorrean Guards on screen together it is him and Simon, but with one exception. The scene where the guards take Han Solo down to the dungeon to join Chewbacca was actually Hugh and Swee Lim (again incorrectly credited as Swin Lee). During the scene Swee fell down the stairs and declared the costume too dangerous to wear and refused to wear it again. So this info adds another name to the list of actors who played Gamorrean Guards. Hugh told me that during all the scenes he did featuring Harrison Ford, that Harrison was very much in charge, telling them exactly what to do, much more so than the actual director Richard Marquand. I also asked Hugh something that I have been trying to establish for a while. There is a series of publicity pictures that feature Bib Fortuna surrounded by various Jabbas palace creatures, against a white background. One of these features a Gamorrean Guard, I have been trying to establish who is wearing the costume in this picture. Hugh confirmed that it is not him, he did not take part in any publicity photo sessions. 

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While I was at the show I did not see anyone else get Star Wars items signed by Hugh but I didn't stay until the end but it's possible I was the only person who got Star Wars pictures signed and it remains to be seen if Hugh does any future shows.

Intersted in becoming a correspondent for Star Wars Autograph Collection?  Send us an email at swautographcollection@gmail.com.