The Star Wars franchise has more than its share of iconic imagery. There is Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber. There, too, is the Millennium Falcon with Han Solo blasting into hyperspace. And no one will forget Darth Vader breathing heavily through a black mask, his cape snapping behind him as he walked.
On Saturday, visitors to the Los Angeles office of Bonhams will be able to view a 1979 Darth Vader costume that will be auctioned on May 14. It is owned by Kermit Bryce Eller, a computer storage engineer from Thousand Oaks, California, who was hired on behalf of the movie’s makers to attend conventions, book parties and marketing events and even perform at the Academy Awards dressed as the dark lord from 1977 to 1982.