From Newsgroup: alt.fan.starwars
Here's behind-the-scenes footage of the original Emperor for The Empire Strikes Back, filmed in 1979. Marjorie Eaton appeared behind the mask, Clive Revill supplied the voice, and photographed chimpanzee eyes were used to create the Emperor's eerie yellow eyes.
According to The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Marjorie Eaton was originally brought to ILM to film the Emperor scene after being sent a sheet of dialogue to lip-synch. But that first test did not end up working the way the production wanted, so Elaine Baker later replaced her in makeup, while Clive Revill supplied the Emperor's voice afterward.
For the hologram effect, the performer was filmed with the eyes blacked out, and the team experimented with several choices for the Emperor's eyes, including a cat, a chimpanzee, and even assistant accountant Laura Crockett. In the end, the chimpanzee won out, and those eyes were composited over the face and rephotographed from a TV screen for the finished scene.
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