Star Wars fans are more than aware of Mark Hamill‘s 1977 car accident, but most fans have no idea that what happened afterwards impacted his life in a very poignant way.
On January 11, 1977, Hamill chose to speed up on an empty freeway in Southern California, only to lose control when exiting an off-ramp at about 70 miles per hour.
Three years later, in July of 1980, Hamill was interviewed by Anita Summer of the now defunct magazine Family Weekly. In it, Hamill described his injuries by saying, “I’d fractured my nose and cheekbone. My plastic surgeon took cartilage from my ear and built up my nose.”
The soon-to-be face of Star Wars — its premiere came four months after Hamill’s accident — was worried that his face would be unrecognizable, but once the injuries healed and surgery was completed, he was physically fine. His mental state was another story, as his anxiety seemingly prevented him from doing anything except feeling bad for himself.
“I wallowed in self-pity,” as Hamill put it.
For Hamill, feeling down was a daily occurrence while recovering. Everyone was sensitive towards him for weeks afterwards, until one person had a different reaction to his woe-is-me attitude.
Hamill explained to Family Weekly, “One day, actress Diana Hyland – with whom I’d worked on TV – came to see me. Instead of pouring out words of comfort, she lashed out. ‘Look at you,’ she jeered. ‘You’re letting yourself down as well as everyone around you.’ She shook me back into reality.”
It was as if Luke Skywalker was reawakened. Finally, Hamill changed his mentality and it helped him get back on his feet. Hyland’s words also helped Hamill reassess his thoughts of self-absorption. What happened next, sadly, made that that certain.
“A few days later, she died,” Hamill explained about Diana. “Would you believe I was so self-involved I didn’t know she was ill, let alone that her illness was terminal.”
Hyland was an award-winning actress, appearing in numerous feature films but mostly known for her TV roles, and she had just begun starring in the television series Eight is Enough before her untimely death. Hamill appeared in the pilot episode of that series.
She had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and when she passed at age 41 on March 27, 1977, her boyfriend John Travolta was by her side.
When Hamill heard the news, the unexpected shock, coupled with her selflessness when he last saw her, impacted him heavily.
“Whatever big items lie ahead for me,” Hamill said, “that moment with Diana Hyland is one I’ll always treasure.”
Shortly thereafter, the original Star Wars movie was released to wide acclaim, and Hamill became a movie star — and everyone recognized his face. Needless to point out, he’s done pretty well for himself since.
At the time he was interviewed for the magazine, The Empire Strikes Back had already been released and it was a major success. He offered another thought about Diana Hyland and what her words still meant to him despite it being three years later. Hamill concluded, “She gave me my life back, my work, my self-respect.”