Whatever Happened to the DEATH STAR?

[@Ubik1999]

I clicked on this video thinking it would be only mildly interesting but-what a totally insane story that was! Dan continues to deliver😛

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Thanks David :-) much appreciated

[@riscostuffersusa]

@@Ubik1999 I agree. He digs up facts and puts them over so well. I hope someday he will explain the three seashells!!

[@heavymetal19610]

Sorry, but I believe it's called the superlaser focus lens.... Cheers

[@mark120964]

One of the best channels on KZbin

[@stevejordan7275]

7: 45 7:55 9:29 That wasn't a "radar dish." That's the *Prime Weapon.* You know...the thing that all the little laser beams came out of a blew up Alderaan?

[@brianstephenson984]

MASSIVE congrats to you, your wife and Sydney on the Voice! I'm a vocalist in the band Umbilicus. I truly appreciate you teaching the new generation how to share their gifts with the world!

[@darkstardavros]

This is so cool that such an important prop managed to survive. Thanks for sharing this one.

[@HalloranIllustrations]

That's no trash can, it's a fully armed and operational battle station.

[@regor2102]

When we got to our one movie theater in our town, I knew something special was going on. The line to get in went out of the movie theater down the street turned and continued down the alley. Not seen before in my lifetime. Star Wars did not disappoint.

[@gumbootnet]

"Original FULL SIZE Death Star Prop". Wouldn't that be a little expensive to build?

[@mdoyle1981]

There were three of them involved because they were penniless college students at the time and had to scrape the funds together. Years later when the prop was authenticated and sold for much more, they shared equally. We met up for lunch years ago at an arcade auction just outside St Louis and that's where I first heard the story of this prop. The older brother holds an old patent on serial port communication that did very well for him back when computers relied on serial ports. I've always loved the story of this prop, you covered it perfectly.

[@JediHangout]

First of all congrats to you and your wife for your student's success. As a musician and music educator of many years it's always wonderful to hear success stories. One of my student's followed my path and became a composer which really makes me feel proud and know that I have been doing the right thing my entire life. This is a wonderful story. It makes me happy to know that the original model Death Star is in good hands and that it's still around. I really enjoy your videos a lot. Keep them up. They are wonderful to watch during the middle of the day when I take breaks.

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Thank you my friend

[@kevinellis8307]

Wowwwww Dan!!! Had No idea… I thought it was in ILM storage at Skywalker Ranch…!!!!!

[@DrJohnWhitney]

Couple points: The dish is called the "superlaser dish" (Concave Dish Composite Beam Superlaser). The equatorial trench is where all the docking bays are (where the Falcon was parked). The meridian trench (near the north pole) is where the exhaust port existed. How cool is that?

[@charleskelly1887]

i did contract work for Lucasfilm in the '80s and '90s in the prop warehouses. I have handled the original Death Star and inspected it. There were little parts from plastic ship models, including an actual lifeboat. We wore Dart Vader's helmet, waved the Raiders of the Lost Ark scimitar, took photos with Jabba the Hut, which was really a pile of foam rubber.

[@JohnWilsonComicsGuy]

Congratulations to Sydney, your wife, and your studio. I catch snippets of The Voice on KZbin but don't don't have/need cable in this streaming world. I wish her all the luck and send her all my positive vibes.

[@dcmagic13]

Awesome Video. Also, I saw Sydney's performance on the Voice. I was floored by her talent!

[@Ronaldl2350]

Thanks Dan. That's a crazy story. I never thought the prop went through all that. Very cool! Glad to hear the young lady is doing great!

[@gregrogers1108]

First let me congratulate your wife and her student for her awesome performance on the voice. Best of luck to them both. Secondly, a truly intriguing story about the travels of the Death Star prop. Great content! Keep up the great work; extremely entertaining.

[@Andy-zm3lp]

Oh my days…..used as a trash can 🙈, but at least the folks put the effort in to save it…great post Dan..👍

[@Oldgreycowboy]

Congrats for helping that young lady get on The Voice. We watched it and she really does have a good voice. 👍

[@GreginMD]

After the attention you gave to "Lost In Space," which really did help your channel, you cast a wider net that got me interested in stuff I'd either forgotten about, or didn't even know about in the first place. As a 63 year old male, I'm loving your guided tour down Nostalgia Lane, and this video about the original Death Star circles you right back to my L.I.S, Star Trek, Star Wars sweet spot. Cheers to you, my friend and congratulations on your wife's success with The Voice! Very exciting for you both!

[@Riceball01]

Just as an FYI, the "radar dish" was not a radar dish, it was the emitter array for the super laser.

[@glazdarklee1683]

Fascinating to hear that the trench was one of those "happy mistakes" I have heard tell of. Glad I came back. And how cool about the Voice!

[@silentotto5099]

Seeing how movie props from popular films get big bucks at auction all the time, it's almost inconceivable that someone at Lucas's production company didn't snatch up the Death Star when it was up for grabs. Star Wars was the highest grossing film in history up to that point and to say it had spawned a mania would be an understatement. I think the original Enterprise model was already sitting in the Smithsonian. How did people not see that the Death Star would be equally in demand?

[@jamesdenofantiquity]

I hope that shows like this help create and foster a mentality of saving and recovering old props and maybe brought back to life to be shared with others.. As a historian I am watching as the digital age takes away from us physical properties like this. We wont have some physical props because locations and items are just rendered and I feel sorry for future generations whose only way of experiencing those items will be in a digital medium and not something that can be said to have been actually held or filmed in person, there isn't that same tangible creation if it made after the fact.

[@delmarrosa8596]

That is so cool that a few individuals cared enough about this ICONIC Star Wars prop, that they literally saved it from certain death in some dump site. How cool is that! Yeah, it was a prop in a scifi movie, but it is a piece of art, creatied by a group of talented artist!

[@ARWest-bp4yb]

Congrats Dan, a star is born!👏👏 And glad to hear that the Death Star has survived!👍👍

[@SevenDaysToNoon]

My favourite channel right now. I love everything about it. From the in-depth analysis to the way Dan tilts his head when he says “music”! Brilliant! 😂🤣👏👏👏

[@dougbrowne9890]

That is SO COOL!!! An amazing story about a piece of film history. Today, Lucas Film (Disney) would have paid a few bucks to get it back and then auction it off for millions. I am NOT a fan of Disney. Great video Dan. Oh, and I absolutely love all the animation in your videos. The ending is just amazing (being a Godzilla/daikaiju otaku that I am). Keep'em coming Dan!!

[@MichelleUS66]

Good video, Dan! (And, you’re so right! The first film’s name is “Star Wars”. The end.) [Just like the 1966-1969 science fiction series on NBC is just “Star Trek”.]

[@timfankell4242]

Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to store trash is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

[@davidtaflan941]

This video left me wanting to know more about this incredible prop.

[@normangoodger9047]

It wasn't a radar dish, it was the Death Star's primary weapon that blew up Alderaan...

[@sterling557]

It is "radar dish shaped." Also radar dishes TRANSMIT a focused beam of energy, as well as receive. Like how Radar Ranges (now called Microwave Ovens) cook food. Radar is lethal.

[@azlanrazif]

Amazing ep, Dan. But it looks like it would benefit from a complete restoration.

[@jeffrix_ogs_gaming]

Congratulations on your student on the Voice. Its pretty cool!

[@esra_erimez]

Dan, you give me hope for humanity. God bless.

[@vinceburgess9012]

My wife and I were blown away by Sydney’s performance on The Voice. Congratulations to her! And congratulations to you and your wife. We will definitely be cheering her on. This was another great video Dan. Just love this channel and I share with as many people as I can.

[@scottmccloud9029]

Congratulations to Sydney, your wife and your studio. I can't carry a tune in a bucket but it's great to see those that can succeed. All the best to her and may God bless her in her endeavors. Thanks Dan.

[@cmaples]

Gotta love it when a fans' passion can help preserve history for the rest of us.

[@jayducharme]

Great story! And congrats to you, your wife and her student. It's thrilling to when you get to see your student succeed.

[@ChristopherDoll]

Congratulations Sidney! That's very cool When I lived in Seattle I reached out to the Death Star owner Gus (Seattle) to see if he'd be willing to bring it to a local science fiction model club show. He laughed and said "well, I'd have to cut new door to get it out of the house". But he gave me the whole story over the phone, it was awesome. At least I got to see it in person at the Paul Allen museum. it was awesome. Very asymetrical. A friend of mine at the time re-created the planet-killer laser dish to replace the missing original (the one you see in the later photos in Gus' home). Very cool story!

[@Golden_Ace]

Short but sweet. Great job Dan. Thank you

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Thanks my friend

[@BobbyTRey100]

In a world where today a price tag is put on every little thing, it's amazing how nonchalant Lucasfilms was about the prop being out there. I cant believe they didn't want it back, especially considering how protective Lucas was of any proprietary material from Star Wars, his trademark on the toys, his ban of toys from Spaceballs being made. Hard to fathom he had no interest in saving this very iconic piece of SW history!!

[@davidsanders5652]

Another great addition. Thanks. And, being rather older than you, I have NEVER been able to say "A new hope", for me it's only ever been Star Wars, so you restored the title.

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

Sending positive thoughts to Sydney! Best of luck to her!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Thank you so much, you're the best:-)

[@charlesswanson8664]

I saw it at the EMP. There was a button you could push to turn on the light bulb in the middle of it and it played the Imperial March IIRC. Being a huge SW fan it was truly unreal to actually get to see it.

[@Vim-Wolf]

Another great video, thanks. And huge congrats to your wife and Sydney from the other side of the pond.

[@glennspace1091]

Thank you for the story. I remember seeing George Lucas in a big storage room surrounded by his Star Wars models and props. I thought I remembered seeing the Death Star among them. But I guess it must have been the second Death Star, which in its incomplete state was much more detailed and therefore worth hanging on to.

[@riscostuffersusa]

Absolutely fantastic. I am so pleased your wife and your music side is doing well. As for your show, it is brilliant….

[@RLJSlick]

That's a crazy story. You have to wonder why Lucas never wanted it back. Great story!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Right? I have no idea.

[@spaceviking4966]

Awesome story yet again Dan! Congratulations to your wife and Sydney. I'll be rooting for her!

[@SaturnCanuck]

That is amazing! Thanks Dan. Sort of how the, and I stress, ONLY remaining model from 2001 -- the Aries IV -- was preserved too.

[@ajmartineau8221]

Very nice sir. Very cool with your wife and her student. God bless you guys sir.

[@garfieldsmith332]

Great video and story. Nice to know that someone had a thought about preserving a piece of screen history. Congratulations yo your wife and your studio for the success of one of her students. I hope she does well in her singing career. And one final note; thanks for appearing on Max's Models channel last week. It was an awesome time with you there talking about the B9 Robot and other things.

[@brianpreston3509]

Sometimes the truth is so much more amusing than stories. Thanks Dan for another entertaining episode!

[@rickgregory9616]

WOW! What an incredible journey of the Death Star. From a movie prop to a trash can to a museum display. It's almost like a Ripley's Believe It or Not! story. And congratulations to your student Sydney Sterlease (sp?) I don't watch shows like 'Voice', or 'America's Got Talent' - but for someone to win a contest that could lead her to a professional career - well . . . . 👍👍👏👏👏👏!!!

[@stevepd1]

Congrats to you and your wife in the succes with Sydney on the singing.

[@troywinston]

Another of those WOW stories. Thank you Dan! But hey, I'm old enough to remember, too...I'll be 55 this Dec. Saw the trilogy in theaters growing up. What's the thing you oft mention about "A New Hope"? The film was called Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope. Sure, it appeared on all the billboards and such as Star Wars...but the crawl of course had the full title. When I was a kid, I knew it shorthand as Star Wars. :-)

[@brentcooper4345]

@@troywinston The original 1977 crawl did not have “Episode IV: A New Hope”. That was added in for the April 1981 re-release.

[@JayMane-z7c]

@@brentcooper4345 "You're absolutely 100% correct"

[@standepain]

There is a guy on the RPF that made a 1/1 scale replica of the Death Star. Honestly looks just as good and is painted all the way around not just 3/4 of it like the original prop. Video of him and his prop replica is on youtube.

[@BigApeBooks]

It's amazing to me how little valued these kind of props were and where they ended up. The Death Star was used as a trashcan? Criminally tragic. Thank God it's been rescued and restored. It does make me wonder what DS was used when they took a picture of George Lucas with all of the ships and other props all those years ago. Great job, Dan. I was on the edge of my seat with this episode.

[@graeschuster4952]

I would expect an original R2 unit to wind up as a trash can, but not the Death Star.

[@maxsmodels]

That story is awesome Dan.

[@mikewarner7149]

Hey Dan that's great news about your wife's student, love the videos .

[@MightyYaks]

Great episode, Dan! I love it when these historical studio scale models wind up with a happy ending (rather than in a landfill). My generation and perhaps one or two immediately following it are starting to reconnect with these classic VFX techniques...folks like Matt Winchell, and NJM Photo here on KZbin, are homebrewing motion control rigs and combining 3D printing technology with old scratchbuilding and kitbashing methods, as well as leveraging modern post-production software, nonlinear editing, and digital cinema camera technology. Their efforts are yielding some really satisfying results, and I suspect it's only a matter of time before we start seeing more in-camera effects in modern science fiction cinema once again. And not a moment too soon!

[@MrSolara7]

Love this episode, The Death Star was a star of Star Wars and I'm so happy it still exists and people can enjoy seeing it in person.

[@mikep2681]

Thanks Dan, This was a great one!! I was at the local premier in May '77! So glad for your wife and Sydney too!!!!

[@kirkmilliren9218]

For a destroyed death star, it sure did continue to go places.

[@GusLopezROW]

Thanks for sharing the story about the Death Star model and crediting the folks who saved it along the way, especially Todd Franklin, who was pivotal in saving it. It will be on display again for the public in the not too distant future. Stay tuned. For now, we enjoy having it in our home along with a lot of other Star Wars movie memorabilia.

[@blaster-zy7xx]

You have it????

[@GusLopezROW]

@@blaster-zy7xx Yes. I own it and still have it. I'm the person mentioned in the story who bought it from Todd Franklin, Pat Franklin, and Tim Williams 25 years ago.

[@blaster-zy7xx]

@@GusLopezROW Well, thank you for saving it and helping Dan with his story. You could not have chosen a better guy to convey the story to the rest of us. One thing I wondered about the story, where did the pictures of it sitting outside a junk shop come from?

[@michaeltape8282]

Another good one Dan. Always a pleasure. Thanks again. You the man, Dan.

[@GlenArnold-bc3ns]

Hey Dan i love what you bring to the table each week keep up the great work mate ,cheers from Brisbane Australia

[@blackmarketoutpost]

I am pretty sure I have watched all your videos and I have to say I really enjoyed this look at the Death Star you may be on to something with episodes on specific props. Fantastic work as always!!!

[@thesuncollective1475]

"Cool trash can , where did you get it?" " Funny you should say that?"😂😂😂

[@daveculp308]

Very interesting story thank you so much. The trash can part hurt me deeply😮

[@stephenoran2019]

Awesome video, man! Congrats on The Voice thing! Thanks for sharing!

[@prudencepineapple9448]

Kudos to you, your wife and her student!

[@octothorpe12]

Also, Congrats to your wife!!! That's amazing news!!

[@edwardcole0711]

One of your shortest, but one of your best deep dives!!! Loved it!

[@timetunnelclocks]

Wow....The Death Star had an incredible journey....thanks Dan for sharing this story...may the force be with you

[@David-James]

Puts garbage in The DeathStar. I hope they said, “What an incredible smell you discovered,” every time they used it.

[@eugenerusselnash]

Great Show Dan! I know the story of the First Death Star Prop but it gets better with the retelling! You did a Primary Stella Ignition Show there! The only problem is now, you've got to do a Whatever Happened to the Original 1979 EEV Narcissus Shuttle Filming Miniature! There's no excuse Danny and there's tons of reference! See it as a Super Challenge! You would get a million hits just on that one Show! It's sure to be a very interesting story!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Hey, thanks so much for watching! That is part of my extremely long list of future videos :) Cheers, Dan

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Hey, thanks so much for your support and the great suggestion! I will add to my extremely long list of future videos :) Cheers, Dan

[@artie]

Love love love this!!! I have a studio as well and love that your student made it on The Voice! I wish her success in all her paths. Congrats!!! I’m a huge Star Wars fan! Great job Dan!!! Wow what a story.

[@darthgrimsdale9394]

Another great video Dan. And congratulations on your student's success!!

[@markelder6681]

Great job Dan! I have never heard this story before.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

Incredible job Dan! This is the stuff I would follow in the old cinematography and otherags! Great job Toddy!😛😂❤❤❤

[@JuanCarlosGomez-w4y]

What a great story! Thanks Dan

[@rayjay848]

What a journey. Thanks to all those guys that kept it alive.

[@ObsessedCollector]

Amazing stuff! Star Wars was the 1st film I saw in the theater.

[@jefffortney4261]

Well done, Dan! Keep 'em coming!

[@leonardvicari2857]

Congratulations Sydney sending love and good vibes My favorite star wars movie is the empire strikes back

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Thank you my friend much appreciated

[@freeport48]

Well this was a pleasant surprise having two in one week. Love it. Couldn't be more pleased with the Death Star being the subject. I saw the movie when I was 19. God I'm getting up there lol.

[@jamesphilip6737]

A shame that Disney has destroyed the franchise, but at least we've got the memories and that prop.

[@braxxian]

The first 6 movies are the real Star Wars. The Disney stuff is just some alternative universe stuff.

[@peterkoester7358]

My wife and I spent part of our honeymoon in September 2007 in Seattle and went to the Sci-Fi Museum and Hall of Fame at the EMP. I clearly remember seeing this model of the Death Star on display amongst an incredible collection of unique sci-fi props and costumes. It was too bad the museum did not allow photography of any of its collection.

[@ScottBaker_]

Congrats on The Voice news. And for another fun video.

[@StumpkillerCP]

It got all blowed up. Twice. I saw it. 🌐 Today I learned that John Steers at the award ceremony wore the same tuxedo I rented for my HS prom! Also in 1977.

[@a.e.rivera-weaver8175]

Wow Dan, I don't know what's a better story, your wife's student on the voice or the deathstar being saved! Either way, great video!

[@jeffreyfisher3115]

Movies, Music, Monsters & Voice Characterizations

[@danielfoster2339]

Congrats Dan to you, your wife and her student, and the cool video 🎉🎉

[@davidshirkey1272]

As a former Art major that switched to Mathematics, I sometimes wish I could have been a space modeler. I am a huge 2001 a Space Odyssey and the original Planet of the Apes fan, as well as 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Silent Running, and other cool sci-fi TV shows and films, because of the ship design and model making. It's an art! I was a junior in high school when I saw the first Star Wars movie. Loved it! Then when me and my sister came out from that, my parents showed up at the theater because Close Encounters was playing and they wanted to watch it, so my whole family watched that too. What a night! Great episode Dan!

[@MrLangDog]

Considering there were toys for the first movie, it seems odd that they didn't care about the Death Star prop. Also lucky that it was so durable.

[@leecotton3242]

Thank you for the saga of the Death Star - so cool to learn its fate. And makes me remember the silly Robot Chicken skit on KZbin in which the emperor takes a phone call from Vader and finds out the Death Star is destroyed and he screeches into the phone, asking what the heck is “an aluminum falcon.”

[@bgsbnny143]

It's not a radar dish. It's the primary weapon.

[@LetsGoLionsNChamps]

What a cool story! So glad it has a happy ending.