--- description: Erik Bauersfeld was 93 title: The 'Star Wars' Actor Who Made 'It's a Trap' Famous Has Died image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9cebecab17666912/69888dbbcd1bba13557001a0/screen-shot-2016-04-05-at-10-12-18-am.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The _Star Wars_ Actor Who Made 'It's a Trap' Famous Has Died  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 5, 2016 2:32 PM CUT  Erik Bauersfeld Erik BauersfeldYoutube  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 5, 2016 2:32 PM CUT His part in [_Star Wars_](http://time.com/4144531/star-wars-video-oscar-boyson/?iid=sr-link5 "undefined") may have been small, but Erik Bauersfeld uttered one of the most oft-quoted lines in movie history, “It’s a trap!” as the voice of Admiral Ackbar in _Return of the Jedi_. The 93-year-old voice actor and radio dramatist [died on Sunday](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/erik-bauersfeld-dead-admiral-ackbar-880618 "undefined"). Bauersfeld worked primarily in public radio beginning in the 1960s. After being recruited by _Star Wars_ _‘_ Oscar-winning sound designer Randy Thom to help with _Star Wars_, he auditioned for the voice of Yoda. He was a finalist for the part, though the job went to Jim Henson disciple (and voice of Miss Piggy) Frank Oz. But Bauersfeld did win the parts of both Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna, Jabba the Hut’s frog-like associate.  Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Twentieth Century Fox “It’s a trap” has gained particular notoriety in the age of the Internet meme. Jon Stewart even [deployed the line](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/12/its-a-trap-stewart-mocks%5Fn%5F459766.html "undefined") on _The Daily Show_ in a conversation about Republicans’ refusal to meet with Obama about Obamacare. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4281918/erik-bauersfeld-star-wars-died/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4281918/erik-bauersfeld-star-wars-died/"},"headline":"The Star Wars Actor Who Made 'It's a Trap' Famous Has Died","datePublished":"2016-04-05T14:32:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:10.205Z","description":"Erik Bauersfeld was 93","url":"https://time.com/4281918/erik-bauersfeld-star-wars-died/","keywords":["remembrance","movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9cebecab17666912/69888dbbcd1bba13557001a0/screen-shot-2016-04-05-at-10-12-18-am.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9cebecab17666912/69888dbbcd1bba13557001a0/screen-shot-2016-04-05-at-10-12-18-am.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 10.12.18 AM","caption":"Erik Bauersfeld","creditText":"Youtube","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4281918/erik-bauersfeld-star-wars-died/","name":"The Star Wars Actor Who Made 'It's a Trap' Famous Has Died"}}]}] ```