Line #38 Creator/PeterCushing


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/peter_cushing_photo.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:320:"A moment, I've just spotted Creator/ChristopherLee..."]]
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4	->''"I don't think there is really a favourite, I'm very fond of film making as a whole and as a medium, and of course there are some that I've enjoyed making more than others, but I've enjoyed making all of them."''
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6	Peter Wilton Cushing, [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever OBE]] (May 26, 1913 – August 11, 1994) was an English actor of stage and screen. He was particularly famous for his roles in Film/HammerHorror films, including Baron Victor Frankenstein in ''Film/TheCurseOfFrankenstein'' and Dr. Van Helsing in ''Dracula'' (called ''Film/HorrorOfDracula'' in the US), both of which starred him opposite Creator/ChristopherLee; the two would become lifelong friends and appear together in numerous other films through the years. Cushing's birthday also happened to fall one day before both Lee's and that of another iconic GothicHorror film star who would end up co-starring with him, Creator/VincentPrice (both on May 27). When their schedules permitted, the three of them would often gather for a two-day-long joint birthday celebration.
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8	Before Hammer made him a star, Cushing appeared with Creator/LaurelAndHardy in ''A Chump at Oxford'' and played the small part of Osric in Creator/LaurenceOlivier's 1948 film of ''Film/{{Hamlet\|1948}}'' (which also had Christopher Lee as an extra, making it their first movie together). He also had a number of notable television roles, including Winston Smith in the 1954 adaptation of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' and Darcy in the 1952 adaptation of ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice''. He returned to the small screen several times after his film career took off, starring as Lije Bailey in a 1964 adaptation of Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'' and Franchise/SherlockHolmes in the 1968 BBC series. He also appeared several times with Creator/MorecambeAndWise, as part of a years-long RunningGag where he would come on to demand payment as the two hosts did everything they could to weasel out of their obligation.
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10	He also played Series/DoctorWho[[note]]As in, for these movies, the character ''was'' [[IAmNotShazam actually called "Doctor Who", instead of the canon "The Doctor"]][[/note]] in [[TheFilmOfTheSeries two non-canon films]], ''Film/DrWhoAndTheDaleks'' and ''Film/DaleksInvasionEarth2150AD''. He is also recognisable for playing Grand Moff Tarkin in the first ''Franchise/StarWars'' film, ''Film/ANewHope''[[note]]He certainly didn't grouse about his role like Creator/AlecGuinness with his aggravated snobbery. Indeed, Cushing relished the influx of [[SoMyKidsCanWatch new fans]] to his work[[/note]]. A digital recreation of his likeness was utilized to have Tarkin appear in ''Film/RogueOne'' in 2016, with Creator/GuyHenry serving as the motion-capture and voice actor giving the actual performance.
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12	He was made an officer of the [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Order of the British Empire]] in 1989.
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14	He died of prostate cancer on the 11th of August, 1994, aged 81. In an interview after his death Christopher Lee remarked: "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 [[HeterosexualLifePartners one person, one friend whom you love and care for very much. That person is so close to you that you are able to share some things only with him. 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. We used to do that with him so often.]] And then when that person is gone, there will be nothing like that in your life ever again".
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16	Cushing often played characters who were either very driven or outright villainous, but Cushing in RealLife was [[MeanCharacterNiceActor a very kindly gentleman]] who was [[HappilyMarried devoted to his wife]] and friends. When she died, he was so distraught that he tried to kill himself by running up and down the stairs in a fit of depression, knowing that he had a heart condition. Near the end of his life, he was given a surprise by Creator/JimmySavile on his show ''Jim'll Fix It'' -- a breed of rose was named after his late wife. It caused him to burst into tears on camera. Creator/CarrieFisher recalled that she could not generate the level of hatred that Princess Leia would have been feeling towards Grand Moff Tarkin as he was so incredibly charming and polite[[note]]and also because he wore bedroom slippers for tight shots as the riding boots the costumers had procured were too small and hurt his feet (he had large feet and usually wore custom-made footwear, but the production didn't have the time to get a pair of boots specially made)[[/note]], and had particular trouble saying the line about "recognizing [his] foul stench" when he smelled pleasantly of pipe tobacco and lavender.
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18	Despite being best-known for his horror work, Cushing freely admitted that he wasn't an especially big fan of horror as a genre -- not that he ''hated'' it, but he wasn't as much into it as his fans sometimes assumed. However, he never expressed any particular angst over being typecast in this kind of movie, repeatedly saying that as long as he was making people happy, he was happy. And while he did publicly admit to disliking a few of the movies he was in -- namely ''Film/TheBloodBeastTerror'', which he called the worst film he'd ever done -- he was always a professional, [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously never phoning in his performance]] or taking his dissatisfaction out on his on-set colleagues.
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20	He was also JustForFun/OneOfUs, being a big fan of WarGaming and painting the little model soldiers.
21	----
22	!!Peter Cushing on TV Tropes:
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24	[[AC:Film]]
25	* ''Film/AChumpAtOxford'' (1940) as a student -- yep, he was in a Creator/LaurelAndHardy movie
26	* ''Film/TheHowardsOfVirginia'' (1940) as Leslie Stephens (uncredited)
27	* ''Film/{{Hamlet\|1948}}'' (1948) as Osric
28	* ''Film/{{Moulin Rouge\|1952}}'' (1952) as Marcel de la Voisier
29	* ''Film/TheEndOfTheAffair'' (1955) as Henry Miles
30	* ''Film/{{Alexander the Great\|1956}}'' (1956) as General Memnon
31	* ''Film/TheCurseOfFrankenstein'' (1957) as Baron Victor Frankenstein
32	* ''Film/TheAbominableSnowman'' (1957) as Dr. Rollason
33	* ''Film/HorrorOfDracula'' (1958) as Doctor Van Helsing
34	* ''Film/TheRevengeOfFrankenstein'' (1958) as Baron Victor Frankenstein / Dr. Victor Stein
35	* ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'' (1959) as Sherlock Holmes
36	* ''Film/{{The Mummy\|1959}}'' (1959) as John Banning
37	* ''Film/TheFleshAndTheFiends'' (1960) as Dr. Robert Knox
38	* ''Film/TheBridesOfDracula'' (1960) as Doctor Van Helsing
39	* ''Film/CashOnDemand'' (1961) as Harry Fordyce
40	* ''Film/CaptainClegg'' (1962) as Parson Blyss
41	* ''Film/TheEvilOfFrankenstein'' (1964) as Baron Victor Frankenstein
42	* ''Film/TheGorgon'' (1964) as Dr. Namaroff
43	* ''Film/DrTerrorsHouseOfHorrors'' (1965) as 'Dr. Terror' / Dr. W. R. Schreck
44	* ''Film/{{She\|1965}}'' (1965) as Major Holly
45	* ''Film/DrWhoAndTheDaleks'' (1965) as Dr. Who
46	* ''Film/IslandOfTerror'' (1966) as Dr. Brian Stanley
47	* ''Film/DaleksInvasionEarth2150AD'' (1966) as Dr. Who
48	* ''Film/FrankensteinCreatedWoman'' (1967) as Baron Victor Frankenstein
49	* ''Film/NightOfTheBigHeat'' (1967) as Dr. Vernon Stone
50	* ''Film/TortureGarden'' (1967) as Lancelot Canning
51	* ''Film/TheBloodBeastTerror'' (1968) as Detective Inspector Quennell
52	* ''Film/FrankensteinMustBeDestroyed'' (1969) as Baron Victor Frankenstein
53	* ''Film/ScreamAndScreamAgain'' (1970) as Major Heinrich Benedek
54	* ''Film/TheVampireLovers'' (1970) as General von Spielsdorf
55	* ''Film/TheHouseThatDrippedBlood'' (1971) as Philip Grayson
56	* ''Film/IMonster'' (1971) as Frederick Utterson
57	* ''Film/TwinsOfEvil'' (1972) as Gustav Weil
58	* ''Film/TalesFromTheCrypt'' (1972) as Arthur Edward Grimsdyke
59	* ''Film/DraculaAD1972'' (1972) as Lawrence Van Helsing and Lorrimer Van Helsing
60	* ''Film/DrPhibesRisesAgain'' (1972) as Captain
61	* ''Film/{{Asylum\|1972Horror}}'' (1972) as Mr. Smith
62	* ''Film/HorrorExpress'' (1972) as Dr. Wells
63	* ''Film/AndNowTheScreamingStarts'' (1973) as Dr. Pope
64	* ''Film/NothingButTheNight'' (1973) as Sir Mark Ashley
65	* ''Film/TheSatanicRitesOfDracula'' (1973) as Lorrimer Van Helsing
66	* ''Film/FromBeyondTheGrave'' (1974) as Antique Shop Proprietor
67	* ''Film/{{Shatter}}'' (1974) as Paul Rottwood
68	* ''Film/FrankensteinAndTheMonsterFromHell'' (1974) as Baron Victor Frankenstein / Dr. Carl Victor
69	* ''Film/TheBeastMustDie'' (1974) as Dr. Christopher Lundgren
70	* ''Film/{{Madhouse\|1974}}'' (1974) as Herbert Flay
71	* ''Film/TheLegendOfThe7GoldenVampires'' (1974) as Professor Van Helsing
72	* ''Literature/AtTheEarthsCore'' (1976) as Dr. Abner Perry
73	* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'' (1977) as [[Characters/StarWarsWilhuffTarkin Grand Moff Tarkin]]
74	* ''Film/ShockWaves'' (1977) as SS Commander
75	* ''Film/TheUncanny'' (1977) as Wilbur
76	* ''Film/ArabianAdventure'' (1979) as Wazir Al Wuzara
77	* ''Film/JulesVernesMysteryOnMonsterIsland'' (1981) as William T. Kolderup
78	* ''Film/TopSecret'' (1984) as Bookstore Proprietor
79	* ''Film/BigglesAdventuresInTime'' (1986) as Air Commodore William Raymond

Context Creator / PeterCushing