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Erik Bauersfeld, who died Sunday at the age of 93, wasn't a household name. But his voice was famous — thanks to three little words delivered by a bulging-eyed, amphibious rebel commander.

Admiral Ackbar was written as a bit part — a handful of lines in Return of the Jedi, most of them rather defeated. "Prepare to retreat," "we have no choice, "take evasive action, "we won't last long!"

And then a futile utterance — pointing out, too late, what Lando Calrissian had already realized.

But something about it stole the hearts of 

The Mon Calamari rebel leader was physically played by puppeteer Tim Rose. But the voice came from Bauersfeld — a voice actor and radio dramatist who was the head of drama for Pacifica Radio's KPFA for decades, who also voiced the role of Jabba the Hutt henchman Bib Fortuna in the movie.

Bauersfeld died at his home in Berkeley, Calif., on Sunday, The Associated Press reports.

His delivery made Admiral Ackbar an instant fan favorite, despite the character's minor role in the films. Ackbar appears several times in the expanded universe (novels, comics and TV shows, now collectively dubbed Star Wars Legends), and Bauersfeld and Rose reprised the role in 2015's The Force Awakens.

Students at Ole Miss unsuccessfully petitioned 

And the phrase itself — "It's a trap!" — has passed into pop culture fame.


And — of course — there are trap remixes of "It's a trap!"

, and spoke to the bemused, beloved voice actor about his odd claim to fame.

He said he replied to every autograph request he ever received, the Chronicle reported:

The Chronicle made a short documentary of Bauersfeld that's well worth watching -- no traps involved.

You can hear some of Bauersfeld's radio work at his website, 

Arts and Culture

The amphibious rebel commander was far from the biggest role that the "Star Wars" movies had to offer. But three words were all it took to transform a bit part into a fan favorite: "It's a trap!"

'Star Wars' voice actor who, as Admiral Ackbar, warned 'It's a trap!' dies

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