From the Movies
Cliegg Lars was a modest, good-hearted moisture farmer who lived on the Lars homestead, not far from the township of Anchorhead. During a trip to the bustling spaceport of Mos Espa, Cliegg fell in love with Shmi Skywalker, a slave owned by Toydarian junk trader Watto.
Cliegg purchased Shmi's freedom and, soon after, made her his bride. They lived a quiet existence for years on the homestead, surviving against the harsh desert elements. With Owen, Cliegg's son from a previous union, and Owen's girlfriend Beru Whitesun, the Lars homestead was a tiny island of familial warmth amidst the endless desert wastes.
Such tranquility would not last. Early one morning, Shmi was attacked and abducted by the savage Tusken Raiders. Enraged, Cliegg amassed a posse of moisture farmers to venture into the desert to find her. Of the 30 farmers, only four returned alive. Cliegg was maimed by the desert nomads, losing his leg in an ambush. Despite his love for his wife, he didn't continue the search due to his wounds, and surrendered to the likelihood that Shmi was dead. Cliegg could no longer walk, and relied on a hovering mechno-chair for mobility.
A month after this tragedy, Anakin Skywalker suddenly arrived at the Lars homestead, driven by relentless nightmares of his mother's safety. Cliegg told Anakin the terrible news, but the defiant young Jedi refused to accept that Shmi was dead. He sped off into the desert to find her.
Anakin returned the next morning with Shmi's body. In a quiet funeral, Shmi was buried at the Lars homestead. Cliegg said his last respects, calling Shmi the most loving partner that any man could ever have.
From the Expanded Universe
Cliegg was born on Tatooine into a family that had spent generations trying to carve out a living in the harsh Tatooine deserts. Like many youngsters, he possessed a strong streak of wanderlust. The allure of metropolitan living was too tempting for young Cliegg and he eventually escaped the drudgery of toiling on his parents' homestead for the bright lights of the Core World of Ator. He met and married a young woman named Aika, and the two had a child, a young boy named Owen.
Cliegg came to realize that the cramped urban quarters of Ator was no place to raise a child, and the lessons his father taught him about responsibility and hard work finally began to sink in. Tragedy struck when Aika died. Cliegg moved back to Tatooine with his son and made peace with his ailing parents. He worked hard to correct his youthful errors by instilling in his son a strong sense of familial loyalty. Owen had few memories of Ator, and fewer still of Aika. As far as he was concerned, moisture farming was the only life the Lars bloodline had ever known.
Behind the Scenes
The name Cliegg, or variations thereof, has existed since the earliest draft screenplays of the original
Star Wars. The rough draft of the screenplay, dated 1974, has a young blonde Alderaanian named Clieg Whitsun. In Episode II, Cliegg Lars was played by Jack Thompson. During shooting, Thompson wore a blue sock to facilitate the digital removal of his leg by Industrial Light & Magic.
