A Star Wars legend has passed away: Kenny Baker, who controlled R2-D2 from within the droid’s body, died this week at the age of 83.

Baker, who was 3 feet, 8 inches tall, played R2-D2 in the original two Star Wars trilogies, and also played the Ewok Paploo in Return of the Jedi.

He was also known for his roles in Time Bandit and Flash Gordon.

His niece Abigail Shield told The Guardian, “It was expected, but it’s sad nonetheless. He had a very long and fulfilled life. He brought lots of happiness to people and we’ll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world. We’re all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime.”

“When he was a child, he was told that he probably wouldn’t survive through puberty, being a little person in those times, they didn’t have a very good life expectancy. He did extremely well in his life. He was very ill for the last few years so we had been expecting it. He had been looked after by one of his nephews, who found him on Saturday morning.”

He was invited to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere last year, but due to his health, he was unable to make it.