Hollywood's beloved sword-fight veteran choreographer died early New Year's Day.

Bob Anderson was a British Olympian and a famous teacher of Hollywood stars when it came to making realistic sword-fight scenes for movies, including "Star Wars," "Lord of the Rings," and "The Mask of Zorro."

The British Academy of Fencing announced that the "lightsaber" guru died on Jan. 1, due to undisclosed causes. He was 89 years old.

Anderson was unsuccessful in bringing home a medal from the 1952 Olympics but discovered a successful career behind the camera teaching famous Hollywood actors how to wield a sword.

The British Academy of Fencing president Philip Bruce applauded Anderson as "one of the greatest fencing masters and a world-class film fight director and choreographer."

Some of the famous Hollywood stars who were trained by Anderson were Sean Connery, David Niven, Charlton Heston, Peter O'Toole, Roger Moore, Michael Caine, Mandy Patinkin, Richard Gere, Liv Tyler, Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins.

Anderson also doubled for David Prowse as Darth Vader during lightsaber duels in two "Star Wars" films -- "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." Anderson's expertise earned the lasting respect of "Star Wars'" director George Lucas.

In a statement Lucas made to The Times last Tuesday, he said, "Bob Anderson was essential in defining what a lightsaber duel would look like. He was the Jedi Master of the original trilogy, training the actors to duel with a new kind of weapon. In 'Empire' and 'Jedi,' Bob donned Darth Vader's cape and helmet to battle Luke Skywalker in all of the amazing lightsaber battles. It was pure movie magic that Bob became Vader."

Many of the people that Anderson worked with note him as a perfectionist when it comes to the fighting scenes making the fight seem realistic as possible.

Anderson is survived by his wife and three children.