Beloved Star Wars legend dies after devastating illness as brother pays emotional tribute

Little House on the Prairie actress Patty Maloney has died at the age of 89. The star's death was confirmed by her brother, Dave Myrabo, who told she passed on Monday, March 31.

The 3-foot-11 star spent her final days in hospice care in Winter Park, Florida and had previously dealt with other health issues after suffering "several" strokes in the years prior. In his moving statement, Myrabo penned: "For a little person growing up in a big world, she did everything she wanted to do." As well as the beloved 1974 series, Maloney also appeared in the Holiday Special as Chewbacca's son Lumpy, and starred in the Sid & Marty Krofft series, Far Out Space Nuts, as the alien Honk.

According to Maloney's health issues began in 2010 with an age-related macular degeneration (AMD) diagnosis, which is an eye condition that can cause blurred or reduced central vision and is a common cause of vision loss among older adults. The actress, born Patricia Anne Maloney, also appeared in the 1981 Wizard of Oz spin-off Under the Rainbow in 1981, as well as Charlie's Angels, Trapper John, M.D., The Love Boat.

She also played Darla Hood in the animated TV series version of The Little Rascals and appeared in Star Trek: Voyager in 1996. Throughout her career, Patty acquired an impressive 48 film and TV credits, with her final one being in a 2005 episode of My Name is Earl.

Patty was born in 1936 in Perkinsville, New York, but her mother and stepfather raised her in Winter Park, Florida and spent her youth performing in carnivals and circuses. In 1961, she married Joseph Vitek and worked as a keypunch operator at Clipper Carloading in Chicago during their marriage.

Following Vitek's death from melanoma in 1968, her friends suggested she return to performing as a means of coping with her grief. Maloney expanded her career to include animation voice acting, work on the Monopoly game show pilot, and puppeteering the Crypt Keeper on Tales from the Crypt. She is survived by her brother Dave, nieces Jennifer and Laura, and brother-in-law Vic.