Mel Sahr


Mary Lylah "Mel" Sahr was the casting director for all three Star Wars radio dramas. She also worked as the production coordinator for the first two, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. As casting director, she notably secured via a phone interview the work of Brock Peters in the role of Darth Vader. She cast Ken Hiller to do the narration, turning down a suggestion by Brian Daley to ask Orson Welles, based on the latter's reputation for being difficult to work with. During recording, Sahr worked as production coordinator in the studio for both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.

More than ten years later, Sahr was responsible for casting the final radio drama, Return of the Jedi, for which she secured the participation of nearly all the original cast members, though notably not film actors Mark Hamill nor Billy Dee Williams. Unlike for the first two dramas, Sahr's work was uncredited.

Sources


  • Star Wars: The National Public Radio Dramatization
  • The Empire Strikes Back: The National Public Radio Dramatization
  • Return of the Jedi: The National Public Radio Dramatization

Appearances