Star Wars Marketing Architect Charles Lippincott Passes Away

Star Wars marketing dynamo Charles Lippincott has passed away at 80. The news was reported by his wife on Facebook and many fans of the original trilogy are saddened by the news. Lippincott was a main part of that original Star Wars team and played a huge role in some other major movies like Judge Dredd, Westworld, Alien, and Flash Gordon. This man was a huge force in helping get George Lucas' epic into the hands of fans. Posters, tie-in novels, and merchandise were all a part of that initial push, and Lippincott was the man behind the scenes making it happen. He also pitched Marvel comics on making a comic book adaptation as well, which opened the door for many of the promotional comics we see today. His wife recounted her memories of his final days on social media and they are recorded down below:

She began, "Charley has been in the ICU on a ventilator since Thurs night. After 48hrs, they tried removing the ventilator to see if Charley could breathe on his own. He could not. That was when I hoped for an Act of God, for the Force to flow through him, healing him and making him one with the Universe."

"Charley had some kind of Covid-19 premonition that if he went to the hospital, he would probably die. At first, it frightened him, but then he became reconciled because he felt he had lived a full and rich life," the message continues. Charley thought he had been blessed. He lived a good life, a full life, and was luckier than most. Oh, he wanted to continue living — there were things he still wanted to do — but he realized many of his peers were dying, and if the end came, it would be alright because he had had a full, rich life."

"I want to think his spirit has joined the 90,000 plus who have left this planet, who have entered the cosmos like Asimov's stream of light. I think Charley would have liked that. The company of many, leaving behind their earthly bodies. He wanted to go beyond, and has done that. There are many Covid-19 deaths, and each death was a Charley to the people who loved them,"

What a loss to the Star Wars fandom and a visionary to many of those early adopters. Our thoughts are with the Lippincott family at this time.