Debbie Lee Carrington obit

Return of the Jedi & Total Recall Actress Debbie Lee Carrington Dies at 58 

She was not on the list.


Sad news out of Hollywood today. Reports have surfaced that veteran actor Debbie Lee Carrington has passed away at the age of 58. Carrington played roles in a wide variety of projects throughout her career, but was probably best known for playing an Ewok in Return of The Jedi, Thumbelina in Total Recall, and her involvement in the Chucky movie franchise. In fact her scene in Total Recall that sees her gut a man with a Bowie knife before jumping on a bar and opening fire on a group of Mars police is one of the most remembered scenes from the movie.


Carrington was a well rounded performer, with voice roles and stunt roles in addition to her acting credits. She appeared in a wide variety of television and movies such as Total Recall, Batman Returns, Baywatch, Men In Black, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Elf, The Polar Express, Mighty Joe Young, Seed of Chucky, Nip/Tuck and a number of other projects. While there hasn’t been much information surrounding Carrington’s death, former colleagues and fans are sharing their condolences and remembering the actress on social media.

Return of The Jedi‘s Mike Quinn, who worked with Carrington during filming, expressed his sadness at hearing of her death on his Facebook. “So sad to hear of the passing of a fellow Return Of The Jedi performer Debbie Lee Carrington,” he wrote. “She was an advocate for actors with disabilities and had a degree in child psychology. She had done so much, not only as an Ewok but was inside the costume for Howard The Duck, appeared in Total Recall, Grace & Frankie, Dexter, Captain EO (shown at Disney theme parks), the list goes on…” He then posted a picture from last summer when they appeared at a show together.


Jennifer Tilly, who worked alongside Carrington in Bride of Chucky – Carrington acted as Tilly’s stunt double – also took to social media to pay her respects.



“RIP #DebbieLeeCarrington, “the other Tiffany”. You were such a joy to work with. You had inimitable spirit, and a great attitude. Whenever you were on the set you kept everybody laughing and happy,” Tilly wrote.



The actress then shared another picture from set with Carrington writing, “We will miss you Debbie,” before adding, “She was the best.”



Carrington was born on December 14, 1959 to an insurance manager father and schoolteacher mother. The actress and stuntwoman, who was born with dwarfism, made her first big screen appearance in the 1981 Chevy Chase/Carrie Fisher movie ‘Under the Rainbow’ before landing the role of Ewok Romba in 1983’s Return of The Jedi. She then began doing stuntwork, beginning with the TV movies, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and The Ewok Adventure. She also portrayed the Ewok Weechee, Wicket’s older brother in The Ewok Adventure in addition to her stunt work.



Carrington’s impressive resume shows she continued to work up until her death. Most recently Carrington made an appearance on the Netflix hit show Grace and Frankie in 2016, had a role in the 2017 movie Special Unit and according to her IMDB page was currently in pre-production on the murder mystery, Escape from Paradise.



It’s clear from the massive amounts of tributes pouring in online that Carrington made an impact on fans and those of whom she worked with. Screenwriter and director Don Mancini, who created the Chucky series that Carrington was so deeply involved in, expressed his condolences online, sharing a sweet picture from on set that simply stated, “WE LOVE YOU ALWAYS.”