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You might not think that Mark Hamill and David Bowie have much in common, but they both played the exact same role and, for entirely different reasons, it was nearly their last.
You likely don’t require an explanation as to who these two entertainment legends are but, in case you do, the short version is that Bowie was a stardust-filled music superstar from Mars, and Hamill skywalks the landscape as an accomplished actor from the stars.
Bowie had also taken acting roles, and initially earned attention for his role in the Man Who Fell To Earth. Meanwhile Hamill skyrocketed to fame in 1977 in the lead role of Star Wars. It would’ve been quite intriguing to see Bowie in a Star Wars role. You can’t blame anyone for thinking that Bowie would’ve made a great young version of Grand Moff Tarkin, but such thoughts are just a moonage daydream.
In the early 1980’s, Hamill was trying to break out of being labeled Luke Skywalker forever. He needed something that proved he can last in the business without using a Jedi mind trick, but it needed to happen sooner than later. His motivation was entirely out of love for his craft, considering he could’ve easily retired on the millions he made from Star Wars, thanks to receiving a percentage of the profits.
Having a 3-movie contract to play the hero in the original Star Wars trilogy, Hamill would not begin filming the third movie, Return of the Jedi, until 1982. So, in 1980 he set his sights on Broadway while Stars Wars fans impatiently waited for Jedi.
That year, David Bowie was cast to play the lead role in The Elephant Man, a Broadway play based on the life of Joseph Merrick, who lived with extreme physical deformities. Bowie felt rushed into the role, but embraced it, especially after a memorable opening night which featured such stars as Elizabeth Taylor and Andy Warhol. The play, which had won the Tony Award for the best play of 1979, received significant critical acclaim in New York newspapers with Bowie in the lead.
The music superstar had agreed to perform as John Merrick — the lead role based on Joseph Merrick — until at least January of 1981, but any hopes the producers had of extending Bowie’s contract were dashed thanks to an unthinkable tragedy.
Bowie’s friend, John Lennon, had two tickets to attend the play on Tuesday night December 9, 1980. One night before, however, Lennon was shot and killed in front of the Dakota apartment building where he lived in New York City. The world was stunned, as was Bowie. The next performance of The Elephant Man was that Tuesday night and Bowie decided to try and perform. However, as if the sudden death of his friend wasn’t enough, the man who killed John Lennon — Mark David Chapman — also had a ticket for that night.
Bowie later explained, “Chapman had a front-row ticket to The Elephant Man the next night. John and Yoko were supposed to sit front-row for that show, too. So the night after John was killed there were three empty seats in the front row. I can’t tell you how difficult it was to go on. I almost didn’t make it through the performance.”
For Bowie, it was the beginning of what would become an extended mourning period that nearly broke him and would see him become a recluse for nearly two years. The tragedy also meant that producers needed to find another star. Eventually, in June of 1981, Mark Hamill would be their new hope. Unbeknownst to Hamill, however, the play was all but coming to end.
The producers hired him out of a desperate desire for star power in a final attempt to save the show. Against Hamill’s wishes, they even promoted the serious play as “The force comes to Broadway!” The out-of-place Star Wars themed ads caused Hamill to later claim it was the most embarrassed he’d ever been in his career.
The play bombed as Hamill’s casting was not enough to save it. Apparently, the force wasn’t strong enough and it lasted just 3 weeks under Hamill before closing altogether.
Hamill was devastated. He had no idea that the show was struggling so badly before his casting to the point that they were playing to a half empty theater every night. He had moved to New York City for the role, believing he would be a star on Broadway for months but after it closed he pondered if his career would be over after Return of the Jedi.
As it turns out, the actor who played a star in space — and the musician who played a star on Earth — both rebounded from The Elephant Man in unique ways.
Hamill found work and eventually made a major impact in the DC comic book universe by being the critically acclaimed voice of the Joker as mostly heard in the highly regarded Batman: The Animated Series.
Bowie returned to music and soon hit another stride of fame thought to be left in the 1970s, as his hit album Let’s Dance catapulted Bowie back to superstardom, and all but cemented his legend as one of the greatest musical artists of all-time.
Both Hamill and Bowie saw what is arguably the darkest period of their respective careers while playing the same role just months apart. Was it the curse of The Elephant Man? One can’t be blamed for considering it. Regardless, both were able to overcome their dark period and shine brightly long after their troubled Broadway experience.