History of Star Wars: Premiered 45 Years Ago

The original Star Wars movie premiered on May 25, 1977.

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

in Berkeley, in November 1976, I picked up a new science fiction novel called “Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker” by George Lucas. I did not know at the time that it was ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster, a popular sci-fi writer.

The following May, the movie initially debuted in only 40 theaters around the country, with little of the advanced fanfare we are used to today. But word of mouth spread fast, and when I heard it was showing at the Coronet Theater in San Francisco, I went the first week it was out with my buddies. The line to get in stretched around the block, even during that first week.

When I first saw the Imperial Star Destroyer come across the screen after the title scroll, I yelled out, “I’m impressed!”

A reporter stopped me for a radio interview on my way out of the theater. “Did you think it was fun?” As I began to explain its relative place among Science Fiction novels and films, he interrupted again and asked,

“But was it fun?”
“Yes, it was fun,”