The Darth Vader costume was produced in 1979 by Star Wars costume designer John Mollo for the movie ‘The Empire Strikes Back’
“A man who made appearances as Darth Vader at film premieres and fan conventions will sell the costume at an auction of classic movie memorabilia next month”, said Auction house Bohams.
The 17 piece assemble includes the villain’s black face mask, boots, a pair of capes and a cod piece said the auctioneers who estimated that the costume could be sold between $1-2 million.
Bryce “Kermit” Eller, whose deep voice helped him land a job making public appearances as Vader at premieres, book signings, conventions and the 1978 Academy Awards is now selling the costume. It is not confirmed if the costume was ever used on screen.
In an interview Eller said that the components of the costume were made out of leather, wool, fiberglass and other materials.
“It’s really, really hot,” Eller said. “You’ve got multiple layers. It takes about 25 minutes to put it on, and you’ve got to have assistance.”
In fact once Eller fainted after wearing the costume for hours and became dehydrated. Paramedics came in to help and wanted to cut the costume off.
“I said ‘absolutely not,’” Eller said. “I said ‘I’ll heal. The costume won’t.’”
The Darth Vader costume will be part of a public exhibition with Turner Classic Movies starting on May 4 before going on sale on May 14.