[13][18] While he was in Southampton he met an 18 year old fellow actor Doreen Lawrence and they were engaged to be married. In the 1970s, he garnered fame for his role in a slew of horror films, including his performance as Van . "[71], Although he appeared in both television and stage productions, Cushing preferred the medium of film, which allowed his perfectionist nature to work out the best performance possible. Study now. They immediately accepted, and among the works Cushing recorded was The Return of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of thirteen one-hour stories. The film gave Cushing the highest amount of visibility of his entire career, and helped inspire younger audiences to watch his older films. Thereafter the action jumps ahead to 1972, and Cushing plays the original character's grandson for the bulk of the movie. [4] He always took the roles seriously and never portrayed them in a campy or tongue-in-cheek style because he felt it would be insulting to his audience. [87] Cushing played the role in Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. [88] Production lasted from May to December,[90] and Cushing adopted a strict regimen of training, preparation and exercise. To join Helen is my only ambition. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't have a crush on Brigitte Bardot. Cushing envisioned the character as an idealist warrior for the greater good, and studied the original book carefully and adapted several of Van Helsing's characteristics from the books into his performance, including the repeated gesture of raising his index finger to emphasise an important point. "Master of horror tells his story.". Adapted from a serial novella of the same name, it was a drama film about a nurse played by Carole Lombard working in a poorly-equipped country hospital. [77] Cushing and director Peter Graham Scott did not get along well during filming and at one point, when the two were having a disagreement on set, Cushing turned to cameraman Len Harris and said, "Take no notice Len. [13] Cushing often learned and practised his lines in an attic at work, under the guise that he was putting ordnance survey maps into order. He played Dr. Who in Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) and gained the highest amount of visibility in his career with his part in the original Star Wars film. Cushing won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor in 1956. The effects of his wife's death proved to be as much physical as mental. .mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. He and his older brother David were raised first in Dulwich Village, a south London suburb, and then later back in Surrey. His stoic portrayals in Hammer horror films and Star Wars is legendary, but did you know that he also played Dr Who in two films? [10] He appeared alongside actor John Mills as Watson, and the two were noted by critics for their strong chemistry and camaraderie. Though only in his early 50s at the time, Cushing regularly played decrepit characters. "[22] Around this time actor Robert Coote, who met Cushing during a cricket game, recommended to director George Stevens that Cushing might be good for a part in Stevens' upcoming film Vigil in the Night (1940). As a Hammer Film actor, he portrayed Baron Frankenstein, Dr. Van Helsing, and . In 1959, he began his career in the movie The Hound of the Baskervilles by Terence Fisher with Christopher Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville. Cushing sought and was cast in the role. [106] After Cushing was cast in the role, several changes were made to the script at his suggestion. Peter Cushing was born in Surrey. [61], In 1959, Cushing agreed to reprise the role of Van Helsing in the sequel, The Brides of Dracula (1960). [123] In 1989 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to the British film industry. Peter Cushing: A Life in Film Hardcover - April 16, 2013 by David Miller (Author) 24 ratings Hardcover $15.79 13 Used from $9.99 Peter Cushing was an unforgettable presence in cult cinema of the fifties, sixties and seventies, and remains one of Britain's best-loved film stars. [3] In his infancy, Cushing twice developed pneumonia and once what was then known as "double pneumonia". At birth, Peter disappointed his mother, who, already having a sonPeter's older brother Davidreally wanted a daughter. "Peter Cushing: The First Gentleman of Horror". "Charleston fanatics ready to celebrate 'Revenge'". [106] Make-up artist Roy Ashton designed the costume and make-up Cushing wore when he rose from the dead,[106] but the actor helped Ashton develop the costume, and donned a pair of false teeth that he previously used in a disguise during the Sherlock Holmes television series. [140] He also loved games and practical jokes,[15] and enjoyed drawing and painting watercolours, the latter of which he did especially often in his later years. To his many fans, the British star was known as 'The Gentle Man of Horror' and is recognized for his work with Hammer Films which began in the late 1950's, but he had numerous memorable roles outside of Hammer. Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE (26 May 1913 - 11 August 1994) was an English actor best known for his roles in the Hammer Productions horror films of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and as Grand Moff Tarkin in the 1977 film Star Wars. Hammer Studios' publicity department put out a story that when Cushing first encountered Lee without the make-up on, he screamed in terror. Clothes did not flatter his frame but they were flattered by him. The person you saw has been dead for more than two centuries! Lawrence broke off the engagement citing his frequent crying and bringing his parents on dates. "It's very likely that [the filmmakers] secured permission from Cushing's estate or his direct heirs, because the laws regarding postmortem rights of publicity differ from state to state," Tyler. Peter Davison 1981 - 1984. more. Peter Cushing's former partners: Peter Cushing's former wife was Helen Cushing. Time is interminable, the loneliness is almost unbearable and the only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that my dear Helen and I will be reunited again some day. "Horror-film actor Peter Cushing dies at 81, Played variety of roles From Sherlock Holmes to Baron Frankenstein" (12 August 1994). As a Hammer Film actor, he portrayed Baron Frankenstein, Dr. Van Helsing, and Sherlock Holmes. Instead, seizing upon Cushing's interest in art and drawing, he got his son a job as a surveyor's assistant in the drawing department of the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council's surveyor's office during the summer of 1933. [137] Cushing also wrote a children's book called The Bois Saga, a story based on the history of England. Peter Cushing real name: Peter Wilton Cushing Height: 5'11''(in feet & inches) 1.8034(m) 180.34(cm) , Birthdate(Birthday): May 26, 1913 , Age on August 11, 1994 (Death date): 81 Years 2 Months 16 Days Profession: Movies (Actor), Features: Hair and eyes dark brown, Address: Purley, Surrey, Father: George Edward Cushing, Mother: Nellie Marie Cushing, Religion: Roman Catholic, School: Shoreham . [5] With the exception of art, Cushing was a self-proclaimed poor student in most subjects and had little attention span for that which did not interest him. He was known for being a Movie Actor. He appeared in Corruption (1968), a film that was billed as so horrific that "no woman will be admitted alone" into theatres to see it. Although the idea was ultimately abandoned before filming began, Cushing and Prowse rehearsed those scenes in a set built by computer animation artist Larry Cuba. He had long blonde hair, tied with a bow, and enviable selection of dresses. I love animals, and when I'm in the country I'm a keen bird-watcher." [99] Cushing and Lee made cameos as their old roles of Frankenstein and Dracula in the comedy One More Time (1970), which starred Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr.[100] The single scene took only one morning of filming, which Cushing agreed to after Davis asked him to do it as a favour. [107] His performance in Tales from the Crypt won him the Best Male Actor award at the 1971 French Convention of Fantasy Cinema in France. Cushing struggled to find work during this period, with some plays he was cast in failing to even make it past rehearsals into theatres. [133] Cushing appeared alongside his old co-stars Christopher Lee and Vincent Price in House of the Long Shadows (1983), a horror-parody film featuring Desi Arnaz, Jr. as an author trying to write a gothic novel in a deserted Welsh mansion. Whether playing Baron Frankenstein witnessing the awful results of his brilliance or Professor Van Helsing in hot . The Peter Cushing Companion David Miller 2002 Page 45 "Cushing's fee for The Face of Love was 74 guineas. [138] His final acting job was narrating, along with Christopher Lee, the Hammer Films documentary Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994), which was recorded only a few weeks before his death. Parents who let children . Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were two of the most prolific actors in horror cinema. [11] Cushing hated the job, where he remained for three years without promotion or advancement due to his lack of ambition in the profession. Cushing had the look of those women with strange faces who tread the catwalks. Cushing's estate owners were heavily involved with the creation which took place more than twenty years after Cushing died. He played the lead in nearly every school production during his teenage years, including the role of Sir Anthony Absolute in a 1929 staging of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners play, The Rivals. [41] Despite this continued success in live television, Cushing found the medium too stressful and wished to return to film. Cushing later said his unscreened scenes alongside Hayward were terrible performances, but that his experience on the film provided an excellent opportunity to learn and observe how filming on a studio set worked. [10] In an interview published in ABC Film Review in November 1964, Cushing stated, "People look at me as if I were some sort of monster, but I can't think why. [18] He found a modest success in a 1945 production of Sheridan's The Rivals at Westminster's Criterion Theatre, which earned him enough money to pay off some growing debts. Cushing continued acting into the early 1990s and wrote two autobiographies. Though they worked together often, they were not necessarily friends. Biography - A Short Wiki. Please say that. He is survived by his daughters Antonia and Sashy, as well as his five grandchildren. Despite making the movie in the late Seventies his fiendish character lives on the character was even revived in CGI form for 2016's Rogue One. [102] He appeared alongside Vincent Price in Dr. Phibes Rises Again! It received poor reviews, however, and ran for only eleven days. 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