He regularly applied for auditions and openings for roles he found in the arts-oriented newspaper The Stage, but was turned down repeatedly due to his lack of professional experience in the theatre. Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Cushing agreed to take his place with very little notice or time to prepare, and earned a salary of ten pounds a week for the job. He scrutinised the costumes and screenwriter Peter Bryan's script, often altering words or phrases. Most, however, were complimentary of Cushing's performance,[50] claiming it added a layer of distinction and credibility to the film. Peter Wilton Cushing OBE (26 May 1913 - 11 August 1994) was an English actor. [87] Cushing played the role in Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. The effects of his wife's death proved to be as much physical as mental. It was his final stage performance for a decade, but he continued to stay active in film and television during this period. Allon, Yoram; Cullen, Del; and Patterson, Hannah (2002). [147] In a silent tribute to Helen, a shot of Van Helsing's desk includes a photograph of her. And his face was memorable. Given what we know of Vader any man who could control him was a man of great power and ability. Witching Time/The Silent Scream. [10] Cinematic roles proved somewhat difficult to find, however, as film producers were often resentful of television stars for drawing audiences away from the cinema. [10] Director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp both said the portrayal of Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow was intended to resemble that of Cushing's old horror film performances. [7] Cushing harboured aspirations for the arts all throughout his youth, especially acting. Neither Carlson nor Cushing wanted to do the scene, filmed despite director Terence Fisher's objections, and the controversial sequence was edited out of the film for its American release. [10] While working, he actively provided feedback and suggestions on other elements beyond his performance, such as dialogue and wardrobe. [18] Although the job meant Cushing received no actual screen time, he was eventually cast in a bit part as the king's messenger, which made The Man in the Iron Mask his official film debut. Peter Cushing was and is one of the most well-loved and well-known actors of his own generation and of those which have followed. It was at home, with Peter beside her, that Helen Cushing passed away on January 14, 1971. "Bring on the Clones". [114], Cushing got along well with the entire cast, especially his old co-star David Prowse who played Darth Vader and Carrie Fisher, who was appearing in her first major role as Princess Leia Organa. "[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. [99][141] He was an ardent vegetarian for most of his life who served as a patron with the Vegetarian Society from 1987 until his death. [144] His co-stars and colleagues often spoke of his politeness, charm, old-fashioned manners and sense of humour. Yes, it was small- but it was a valuable learning experience nonetheless. "Peter Cushing, 81; Starred in Classic Horror Movies". He was forced to withdraw from the film to care for his wife, and was ultimately replaced by Andrew Keir. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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 . As a Hammer Film actor, he portrayed Baron Frankenstein, Dr. Van Helsing, and . Knight, Chris (1971). Matt Smith 2010 - 2013. Wesley Snipes has taken out more in single scenes, no doubt. Thereafter the action jumps ahead to 1972, and Cushing plays the original character's grandson for the bulk of the movie. Though only in his early 50s at the time, Cushing regularly played decrepit characters. [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. Peter Sellers died young, and in the decades since his passing, debate about his character and behavior has rarely ceased, with a great number of well-researched biographies and a big-budget movie, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, trying to get a grip on the reverse side of this most gifted creator of characters, to show something of the real [113] As a result, Cushing was paid a larger daily salary than most of his fellow cast, earning 2,000 per day compared to weekly salaries of $1,000 for Mark Hamill, $850 for Carrie Fisher and $750 for Harrison Ford, who played protagonists Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo, respectively. Peter Bogdanovich's passing was announced by one of his daughters, Antonia, on Thursday, January 6. ", Thanks to his former teacher Davies, Cushing continued to appear in school productions during this time, as well as amateur plays such as W.S. Gilbert's Pygmalion and Galatea,[12] George Kelly's The Torch-Bearers, and The Red Umbrella, by Brenda Girvin and Monica Cosens. [4][42], In an interview included on the DVD release of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Lee said of his friend's death: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, I don't want to sound gloomy, but at some point of your lives, every one of you will notice that you have in your life one person, one friend whom you love and care for very much. Hammer Studios' publicity department put out a story that when Cushing first encountered Lee without the make-up on, he screamed in terror. "[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). Peter Cushing is one of the most highly regarded performers amongst all manner of cinephiles. It was also turned down by Christopher Lee, and eventually went to Donald Pleasence, another of Cushing's former co-stars. [90][93], Cushing appeared in a handful of horror films by the independent Amicus Productions, including Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965), as a man who could see into the future using Tarot cards;[94] The Skull (1965), as a professor who became possessed by a spiritual force embodied within a skull;[95] and Torture Garden (1967), as a collector of Edgar Allan Poe relics who is robbed and murdered by a rival. 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? Later that year he was set to appear in Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971), an adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. Which means Cushing's career vampire kill count is - drum roll - fifteen - five of which were the same bloody vampire over and over. 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. With the aid of advanced CGI, a walking, talking Cushing once again reprises his role as the sneering Imperial Officer Grand Moff Tarkin from the 1977 original Star Wars: A New Hope, even though. There was no reference to such an injury in the film script, and when he asked the publicity department why it was on the poster, they said it was simply meant to serve as a shocking image to promote the movie. [35] His largest television success from this period was the leading role of Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, (1954) an adaptation by Nigel Kneale of George Orwell's novel of the same name about a totalitarian regime. Grant, Devin (19 May 2005). Prone to homesickness, he was miserable at the boarding school and spent only one term there before returning home. "After the recording, I cleared the studio and left Peter and Christopher alone with the TV. For example, you can call that friend, and from the very first maniacal laugh or some other joke you will know who is at the other end of that line. Cushing said he would have preferred to play Kenobi rather than Tarkin, but could not have done so because he was to be filming other movie roles when Star Wars was shooting, and Tarkin's scenes took less time to film than those of the larger Kenobi role. [21] In that film, Cushing's Van Helsing travels to the Chinese city Chungking, where Count Dracula is heading a vampire cult. Terence Fisher's The Curse of Frankenstein is a movie full of cinematic firsts: Hammer's first color horror film, Peter Cushing's first leading role in a movie, and his first time acting in the same scenes as Christopher Lee.Loosely based on Mary Shelley's novel, the film tells the story of Victor Frankenstein - an unorthodox scientist who brings a creature to life, only to have it . That film marked the first Cushing worked for producer Kevin Francis, who worked in minor jobs at Hammer and had long aspired to work with Cushing, whom he admired deeply. Peter Cushing's wife died in the early 1970's, they never had children so when he died of cancer in 1994 he left his estate to his secretary Joyce Broughton. Peter Cushing was one of the handful of actors who defined the horror movie. [67] Cushing and Lee appeared together in the Hammer horror The Mummy (1959), with Cushing as the archaeologist John Banning and Lee as the antagonist Kharis. His dialog usually runs along the lines of, 'But good heavens, man! Cushing had recently undergone dental surgery and he was trying not to open his mouth widely for fear of spitting. [48] The Curse of Frankenstein also featured Christopher Lee, who played Frankenstein's monster. [10] Cushing met a Columbia Pictures employee named Larry Goodkind, who wrote him a letter of recommendation and directed him to acquaintances Goodkind knew at the company Edward Small Productions. He has adorned our screens as Dr. . Biography - A Short Wiki. [80] Around the same time, he appeared in the film Alexander the Great (1956) as the Athenian General Memnon of Rhodes. '"[47], Unlike Frankenstein (1931) produced by Universal, the Hammer films revolved mainly around Victor Frankenstein, rather than his monster. One tradition says that Peter had at least one daughter but there is no confirmation of this. [1] Published in 1994, it was originally written specifically for the daughter of Cushing's long-time secretary and friend Joyce Broughton, to help her overcome reading problems resulting from her dyslexia. Here is all you want to know, and more! [14] His first audition was before the actor Allan Aynesworth, who was so unimpressed with Cushing's manner of speech that he rejected him outright and insisted he not return until he improved his diction. [40] Among the plays he appeared in during this time were Terence Rattigan's The Browning Version, Gordon Daviot's Richard of Bordeaux, and the production of Nigel Kneale's The Creature (1955),[35] the latter of which Cushing starred in film adaptation released in 1957. Peter Wilton Cushing was born in Kenley, then a district in the English county of Surrey, on 26 May 1913 to George Edward Cushing (18811956) and Nellie Marie (ne King) Cushing (18821961). [21][28], He earned praise for playing the lead male role of Mr. Darcy in an early BBC Television serialisation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1952). Lawrence broke off the engagement citing his frequent crying and bringing his parents on dates. [10] Along with Alec Guinness, who was ultimately cast as Kenobi, Cushing was among the best known actors at the time to appear in Star Wars, as the rest of the cast were then relatively unknown. [28] He suffered from nyctophobia from early in his life, but in his later years overcame this by forcing himself to take walks outside after midnight. Biography - A Short Wiki. [18] After Cushing attempted the accent and failed, Olivier replied, "Well, I appreciate you not wasting my time. Peter Cushing in Dracula (1958) Peter Cushing is well known to modern audiences as Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (license statement/permission). The episodes aired in 1968. [10] Far from being deterred by Cushing's unsuccessful audition the year before, Olivier remembered the actor well and was happy to cast him,[10][18] but the only character left unfilled was the relatively small part of the foppish courtier Osric. However, when producer Anthony Hinds proposed removing the character's deerstalker, Cushing insisted they remain because audiences associated Holmes with his headgear and pipes. Around this time he learned that Helen Ryan, an actress who impressed him in a televised play about King Edward VII, was planning to run the Horseshoe Theatre in Basingstoke with her husband, Guy Slater. Did Peter Cushing have any family? Tender Dracula. [129][130][131] Joyce Broughton, Cushing's former secretary, had approved recreating Cushing in the film. 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. PETER CUSHING was one of the handful of actors. [42][66] He appeared in the horror film The Abominable Snowman (1957), a Hammer adaptation of a BBC Nigel Kneale television play The Creature (1955) which Cushing had also starred in. He earned particular acclaim for his lead performance as Winston Smith in a BBC adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954). The studio executives were anxious to have Cushing; in fact, Hammer co-founder James Carreras had been unsuccessfully courting Cushing for film roles in other projects even before his major success with Nineteen Eighty-Four. Peter Cushing was born in Surrey, England on May 26, 1913, to George Edward and Nellie Marie Cushing, and was younger of the two brothers. [14][28] They fell in love and were married on 10 April 1943. Cushing appeared in several other Hammer films, including The Abominable Snowman (1957), The Mummy and The Hound of the Baskervilles (both 1959), the last of which marked the first of the several occasions he portrayed the detective Sherlock Holmes. He achieved recognition in his home country for his leading performances in the Hammer Productions horror films from the 1950s to 1970s, while earning international prominence as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars (1977). [51] Many felt Cushing's performance helped create the archetypal mad scientist character. .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. During his. Despite performing in a string of roles, including one as Osric in Laurence Olivier's film adaptation of Hamlet (1948), Cushing struggled greatly to find work during this period. That person is so close to you that you are able to share some things only with him. Peter Cushing (26 may 1913 - 11 august 1994) was a British actor who played Sherlock Holmes 3 times. Actually, I'm a gentle fellow. At an early age, Cushing was attracted to acting, inspired by his . [114], During the filming of Star Wars, Cushing was provided with a pair of boots far too small to accommodate the actor's size twelve feet. Peter Cushing was born in Surrey. At birth, Peter disappointed his mother, who, already having a sonPeter's older brother Davidreally wanted a daughter. It'll be a glorious death, so long as I can hear what you're saying. "[46] The film critic Roger Ebert described Cushing's work in the Hammer films: "[Cushing is] the one in all those British horror films, standing between Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. [12], Cushing eventually applied for a scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. [13][15] Cushing continued to pursue a scholarship, writing twenty-one letters to the school,[15] until actor and theatre manager Bill Fraser finally agreed to meet Cushing in 1935 simply so he could ask him in person to stop writing. [42], Nevertheless, he continued to work in some film roles during this period, including the adventure film The Black Knight (1954) opposite Alan Ladd. Cushing often appeared alongside actor Christopher Lee, who became one of his closest friends, and occasionally with the American horror star Vincent Price. He had long blonde hair, tied with a bow, and enviable selection of dresses. [21] Around the same time, Cushing played the original nineteenth century Van Helsing in The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (also 1974), a co-production between Hammer Studios and the Shaw Brothers Studio, which brought Chinese martial arts into the Dracula story. The cause was cancer, The Associated Press reported. In 1939, his father bought him a one-way ticket to Hollywood, where he moved with only 50 to his name. Peter Wilton Cushing was born on May 26, 1913 in Kenley, Surrey, England, to Nellie Maria (King) and George Edward Cushing, a quantity surveyor. [39] Cushing was cast in the lead role of The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), marking the first of twenty-two films he made for Hammer. He looked like a schoolteacher that would struggle to hold the attention of the children. [20], Only a few days after filming on The Man in the Iron Mask was completed, Cushing was in the Schwab's Drug Store, a famous Sunset Boulevard hangout spot for actors, when he learned producer Hal Roach was seeking an English actor for a comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. After making his motion picture debut in the film The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), Cushing began to find modest success in American films before returning to England at the outbreak of the Second World War. [68] However, Cushing was able to star in Twins of Evil (also 1971), a prequel of sorts to The Vampire Lovers, as Gustav Weil, the leader of a group of religious puritans trying to stamp out witchcraft and satanism. [55] In Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Cushing portrayed Frankenstein as having gone completely mad, in a fitting coda to the earlier films. 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. He also won best actor awards from the Guild of Television Producers in 1955,[39] and from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1956. During filming he asked director Terence Fisher for permission to drive a harpoon through the mummy's body during a fight scene, to explain the poster image. "[32], Hamlet won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and earned Cushing praise for his performance. Although I didn't . Never harmed a fly. He appeared in several horror films and was in Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet. [86] Cushing also starred in several horror films released in 1975. Cushing's biographer Tony Earnshaw said Cushing's performance in The Masks of Death was arguably the actor's best interpretation of the role, calling it "the culmination of a life-time as a Holmes fan, and more than a quarter of a century of preparation to play the most complex of characters". [21] He once said that he learned his parts "from cover to cover" before filming began. [102] He appeared alongside Vincent Price in Dr. Phibes Rises Again! [20] Cushing was hired as a stand-in for scenes that featured both characters played by Louis Hayward, who had the dual lead roles of King Louis XIV and Philippe of Gascony. This led Lucas to write the character of Grand Moff Tarkin: a high-ranking Imperial governor and commander of the planet-destroying battlestation, the Death Star. His written candor was nearly too painful to read. See answer (1) A necessary requirement to having a family and children is of course, having a spouse. [21] It was filmed on location in County Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland. Both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee had agreed to work together one last time. [152] In total, Cushing appeared in more than 100 films throughout his career. When Peter Cushing was a child, his mother dressed him as a girl. That person is so close to you that you are able to share so. Cushing considered this among the favourites of his films,[21] and some critics believed it to be among his best performances, although it was one of the least seen films from his career. [63] The next year, Cushing appeared in I, Monster (1971),[10] which was adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, alongside Lee as the Jekyll/Hyde figure. One of his designs was even worn by the queen mother. There were several stage actors in Cushing's family, including his paternal grandfather Henry William Cushing, his paternal aunt Maude Ashton, and his step-uncle Wilton Herriot. [86], Cushing took the lead role in two science fiction films by AARU Productions based on the British television series, Doctor Who. [11], Cushing wanted to enter the acting profession after school, but his father opposed the idea, despite the theatrical background of several of his family members. [142] He also had a great interest in ornithology and wildlife in general. Cushing was known for his roles as Baron Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Van Helsing, Dr. Who, and Grand Moff Tarkin. And then when that person is gone, there will be nothing like that in your life ever again. [10] Director John Carpenter approached him to appear in the horror film Halloween (1978) as Samuel Loomis, the psychiatrist of murderer Michael Myers, but Cushing turned down the role. [14][151] In accordance with his wishes, Cushing had a low-profile funeral with family and friends, although hundreds of fans and well-wishers came to Canterbury to pay their respects. [14][28][29][145], In 1971 Cushing's wife died of emphysema. [10], Cushing continued to work in a few Hollywood engagements, including an uncredited role in the war film They Dare Not Love (1941), which reunited him with director James Whale. [6] Cushing loved dressing up and make believe from an early age, and later claimed he always wanted to be an actor, "perhaps without knowing at first. We began a close personal correspondence that lasted for several years. [71] Cushing prepared extensively for the role, studying the novel and taking notes in his script. Cushing appeared only briefly in A Chump at Oxford (1940) and his scenes took just one week to film, but he was proud to work with whom he called "two of the greatest comedians the cinema has ever produced. Davies, the Purley County Grammar School physics teacher who produced all the school's plays, recognised some acting potential in him and encouraged him to participate in the theatre, even allowing Cushing to skip class to paint sets. [21] Cushing became very ill with dysentery during filming and lost a considerable amount of weight as a result. 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. Peter Davison 1981 - 1984. more. I shall remember you. Missing Helen To underscore just how difficult Helen's passing was for Peter Cushing, he ended his first autobiography, published in 1986, with her death: Peter felt his life effectively ended with Helen's passing. Eventually, the character is driven to commit suicide, but returns from the grave to seek revenge against his tormentors. [10] D.J. Sherlock Holmes and the Masks of Death. [69] Cushing drew generally mixed reviews: Film Daily called it a "tantalising performance" and Time Out's David Pirie called it "one of his very best performances",[74] while the Monthly Film Bulletin called him "tiresomely mannered and too lightweight" and BBC Television's Barry Norman said he "didn't quite capture the air of know-all arrogance that was the great detective's hallmark". There will be nothing like that in your life ever Again and taking notes in his early 50s the... His wife 's death proved to be as much physical as mental grave to revenge. His name adaptation of George Orwell 's Nineteen Eighty-Four did peter cushing have children 1954 ) former secretary, had approved recreating Cushing Dracula! But he continued to stay active in film and television during this period withdraw the... ] the Curse of Frankenstein also featured Christopher Lee had agreed to work together last! Close to you that you are able to share some things only with him love and were on... 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