THE JAWA DATABASE

Everything you've ever wanted to know about the Jawas from Star Wars

Actors, costumes, locations & props

Let's start at the beginning... So what are they ?

Jawas are an alien species that appear in the Star Wars universe. They are well known scavengers, droid traders and occupational chancers.  They have earned a reputation of being untrustworthly, thevies and selling defective goods with very little concern to the buyer.

Being characteristiclly skittish, Jawas mainly reisde in packs and (unless the odds are in their favor) are more likley to run away from a fight than generally start one. As inhabitants of the desert world's such as Tatooine, they live onboard massive tank-like vehicles called Sandcrawlers, which protects them from sandstorms and dangers of other races like the Tusken Raiders.

Thought to be a species evolved from rodent like creatures, Jawas commonly measure somewhere between 1.0 to 1.4 meters in height. With large hoods hiding everything but the glow of their eyes, Jawas are commonly dressed in long brown robes, adorded with leather bandoliers and gun straps that criss cross over the shoulders. Brandishing rudimentary Ion weapons or other types of equipment for restraining droids.

Laying out the foundations (the original conception)

George Lucas had been wanting to produce new verson of the Flash Gordon serials seen in the 1930's. But unable to obtain the license of Flash Gordon, he embarked on his own sci-fi universe which became Star Wars.  Durring the inital concept of Star Wars he employed the artist Ralph McQuarrie to design various concept scenes based on ideas from George's early scripts. Some of these included areas of an alien desert planet (Tatoonie) with alien nomadic-traders (Jawas) in places they inhabitated.

These concept images were shown to the production crew as the base for the real desgins to be seen on film .

left: Ralph McQuarrie's pencil draft of a Jawa Sandcrawler.
below: Finished painting of the Jawa's trading camp.

LOCATION SHOTS

Scenes shot: Star Wars: A New Hope - Exterior Sandcrawler scenes,
Loading R2-D2 on board the Sandcrawler, The droid sale to Owen larrs and Luke and Obi Wan Finding the Sandcrawler attacked.
   
Location: TUNISIA: Sidi Bouhlel Ravine.

Actors in scene:
Chief Jawa - Jack Purvis
Jawa #2 - A French-Tunisian small person (name unknown)
Jawa #3 - Melissa Kurtz (daugther of Star Wars Producer: Gary Kurtz)
Jawa #3 - Tiffany Kurtz (daugther of Star Wars Producer: Gary Kurtz)
jawa #5 - the son of one English truck drivers who worked for one of the production companies,
jawa #6 - local child from Tunisia
jawa #7 - local child from Tunisia
jawa #8 - local child from Tunisia
jawa #9 - local child from Tunisia
jawa #10 - local child from Tunisia

Notes: Before Jack Purvis was hired for the job, he and R2-D2 actor Kenny Baker had just reached the final of the TV show Opportunity Knocks, as musical-comedy duo called the Mini-Tones.
Jack was also known as a pratical joker while on location in Tunisia and Mark Hamill and Alec Gunniess have remarked about Jack in stories.
It is unknown who the five Tunisian children were but they may of been children of the local crew for the film?
We are unsure if the French-Tunisian small person was a known actor or just someone known in the area?
The son of one of the production company’s English truck drivers.
Gary Kurtz had taken his wife and two daughters (Melissa and Tiffany) to Tunisia.

Scenes shot: Star Wars: A New Hope - Interor scene on the Sandcrawler.

Filming Location: UK - Elstree Studios

Actors in Scene:
Chef Jawa - Rusty Goffe
Taller Jawa - Warwick Diamond

Shorter Jawa - Fraser Diamond

Gonk Droid - Jack Purvis
C-3PO - Anthony Daniels
R2-D2 - Kenny Baker

Notes: Warwick and Fraser were in this scene due to their father Peter Diamond (who was the main stunt cordinator for the Star Wars) and brought them to the studio. Although this is the only scene Warwick and Fraser appeared on screen in. Peter's family members were allowed to be on set for New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi

Anthony Brown falsely claimed in a Bournmough Echo news paper article (printed 22nd july 2017). That as a child in 1976, he was invited to Elstree Studios by Fraser Diamond to play a Jawa in the same scenes as him.
Frazer Diamond and other crew members have gone on record to state that Anthony Brown has never been in Star Wars and at no time had he ever been on set or been invited by Fraser (or anyone else) to go to Elstree Studios at the time of shooting Star Wars. 
Not only that, there is further photographic proof, showing the only children to be filmed as Jawas at this shoot were Warwick and Fraser Diamond.

Scenes shot: Star Wars: A New Hope - Pick up shots of Jawas carrying R2-D2, Tusken Radiers with the Bantha and some C-3PO shots

Filming Location: USA: Death Valley

Actors in Scene:
(All Jawas actors were children from local Death Vally elementary school)
Jawa - Tim Donaldson (age 5)
Jawa - Andrea Wickman Miller (2nd Grade)
Jawa - Joe Weber (1st grade)
Jawa - Johnny Bushell, (2nd Grade)
Jawa - Lisa Curtis, (2nd Grade)
Clare Boland, (2nd Grade)
Jenny Payne, (2nd Grade)
Kelly Cohan (2nd Grade)

Notes:
Tim Donldson's mother and father were employed by the National Park Service in Death Valley National Monument as a Park Rangers.

Andrea Wickman Miller’s father was an artist and their family lived in Death Valley Junction.

George Lucas was not present for the filming of any of the Death Valley scenes but sent his assistant, Micki Herman to supervise the scenes.

As C-3PO was needed for some of the shots in Death Valley but Anthony Daniels wasn't present. Micki filled in as C-3PO as she was a slim build and could fit into the C-3PO costume.

At the movies... where did we see them ? 

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (released in 1977)

The very first appearance of the Jawas was in Star Wars IV 'A New Hope'. In their first scene, two Jawas encounter R2D2 in a rocky area of the Tatooine desert and caputre him using a ion gun, a few seconds later a larger group appear and carry R2 away. After fitting R2 with a restrinaing bolt  he's taken on board their vehicle, where he meets back up with C-3PO. Subsequently they're taken to Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen, as part of a droid sale.

Later on, the same group of Jawas are found murdered in the desert by Stormtroopers who were also looking for the 2 droids.

Some other Jawas are also seen outside the Mos Eisley Cantina and one is told by Luke to take his hands off his Landspeeder.

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (released in 1983)

Another noteable appearance is in 'Return of the Jedi' where a Jawa in found as a slave in Jabba's the Paliace using a long fan to keep Jabba cool.

'The same Jawa i also seen later on Jabba's bardge

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (released in 1999)

There is a short scene where two Jawas are seen watching the Pod Racers go past them at high speed during the race.