RIP Patty Maloney

 

Star of Notorious ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ Dies at 89

Patty Maloney logged nearly 50 film and TV credits throughout her career, but might have been best known for playing Chewbacca’s son.

Men’s Journal

By Jennifer M. Wood

April 1, 2025

 

Patty Maloney, the 3-foot-11 actress who played a lovable Wookiee in 1978’s infamous The Star Wars Holiday Special, passed away on Monday, March 31 in Winter Park, Florida. She was 89 years old.

Maloney’s health first suffered a setback in 2010, when she was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, which made it challenging for her to read scripts. More recently, she suffered a series of strokes, which eventually led to her death.

“For a little person growing up in a big world, she did everything she wanted to do,” Maloney’s brother, Dave Myrabo, told The Hollywood Reporter.

That included an entertainment career that dated back to her teens, when Maloney traveled with a carnival during the summer and worked as part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She exited the entertainment world in 1961, when she married Joseph Vitek, a printer from Chicago. Following his death in 1968, however, she was encouraged by friends and family to return to the stage in order to help her overcome the grief brought on by losing her husband.

In 1975, Maloney landed a recurring role on Sid and Marty Krofft kid’s TV show Far Out Space Nuts playing Honk, an alien who spoke by honking. She went on to appear on a number of popular TV shows of the time, including Charlie’s Angels, Rhoda, Little House on the Prairie, and The Love Boat. She also landed recurring roles on Marty Hartman, Mary Hartman; The Bay City Rollers Show; and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She maintained a busy career as a voice actress as well, which included voicing Darla in the animated version of The Little Rascals. She did some voice work on HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, where she also operated The Crypt Keeper.

Maloney became a part of pop culture infamy with a starring role in The Star Wars Christmas Special, which aired the week before Thanksgiving in 1978. The variety show-style caper was seen as a quick cash grab to bank on Star Wars’ amazing popularity. While the film’s main stars, including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill, all appeared, the special was centered around Han Solo’s Wookiee pal Chewbacca and his family back on his home planet of Kashyyyk, where Chewie has returned to celebrate “Life Day” with his friends and family. Maloney played the costumed role of Lumpy, Chewbacca’s young son.

In a 2008 interview, Maloney noted how “very, very warm” the costume was because it “was made of all human hair.”

Following The Star Wars Holiday Special’s TV debut, and subsequent thrashing by critics, George Lucas stated that, “If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every bootlegged copy of the program and smash it.”

Maloney’s final role was in a 2005 episode of My Name is Earl.

In addition to her brother, Maloney is survived by her two nieces and her brother-in-law.

MALONEY, Patty (Patricia Anne Maloney)

Born: 3/17/1936, Perkinsville, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/31/2025, Winter Park, Florida, U.S.A.

 

Patty Malone’s westerns – actress:

Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1982 (Alice Bates)

Legend (TV) – 1995 (Zorelda Tombs)