- "One day I came into the mix room, thinking I was alone, when I heard clunking in the floor. I was greatly startled to see the floor panel in front of me crack open and emit a glow of light. I expected the Alien, but no—out popped Annie with a flashlight in her mouth and a long coil of cable in one hand [...] having crawled through the bowels of the building with a connecting wire for some new equipment."
- ―Ben Burtt
Annie Arbogast played Sy Snootles in the original version of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
Biography[]
Arbogast was a singer in a local punk band and used to dress and wear make up according to punk fashion. During the filming of Return of the Jedi she worked in the sound department and one of her jobs was to transfer wires around the building.[1]
Thanks to her singing skills, she was asked to perform the vocals for Sy Snootles singing "Lapti Nek". She consulted with Ben Burtt in writing the Huttese lyrics.[1]
Burtt then recorded Arbogast performing the number for the temp track with the intent of replacing it later with another performer. Despite this, executive producer George Lucas and composer John Williams decided to retain Arbogast's temp track in the theatrical cut. During rehearsals and shooting, "Lapti Nek" was sung in English.[2]
For the soundtrack album, Williams opted to include a different version of the song, this time with Michele Gruska performing Sy's vocals.[2] The song, and Arbogast's performance, was entirey replaced by "Jedi Rocks" in the Special Edition.[3]
According to Burtt, later in life Arbogast gave up her punk lifestyle to become a soccer mom.[1]
