Peter Cushing(1913-1994)
- Actor
- Writer
- Art Department
Peter Wilton Cushing was born on May 26, 1913 in Kenley, Surrey,
England, to Nellie Maria (King) and George Edward Cushing, a quantity
surveyor. He and his older brother David were raised first in Dulwich
Village, a south London suburb, and then later back in Surrey. At an
early age, Cushing was attracted to acting, inspired by his favorite
aunt, who was a stage actress. While at school, Cushing pursued his
acting interest in acting and also drawing, a talent he put to good use
later in his first job as a government surveyor's assistant in Surrey.
At this time, he also dabbled in local amateur theater until moving to
London to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on
scholarship. He then performed in repertory theater in Worthing, deciding in 1939
to head for Hollywood, where he made his film debut in
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939).
Other Hollywood films included
A Chump at Oxford (1940) with
Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy,
Vigil in the Night (1940) and
They Dare Not Love (1941).
However, after a short stay, he returned to England by way of New York
(making brief appearances on Broadway) and Canada. Back in his
homeland, he contributed to the war effort during World War II by
joining the Entertainment National Services Association.
After the war, he performed in the West End and had his big break
appearing with Laurence Olivier in
Hamlet (1948), in which Cushing's future
partner-in-horror
Christopher Lee had a bit part.
Both actors also appeared in
Moulin Rouge (1952) but did not meet
until their later horror films. During the 1950s, Cushing became a
familiar face on British television, appearing in numerous teleplays,
such as 1984 (1954) and Beau Brummell (1954), until the end of the
decade when he began his legendary association with Hammer Film
Productions in its remakes of the 1930s Universal horror classics. His
first Hammer roles included Dr. Frankenstein in
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957),
Dr. Van Helsing in Horror of Dracula (1958), and
Sherlock Holmes in
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959).
Cushing continued playing the roles of Drs. Frankenstein and Van
Helsing, as well as taking on other horror characters, in Hammer films
over the next 20 years. He also appeared in films for the other major
horror producer of the time, Amicus Productions, including
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
and its later horror anthologies, a couple of Dr. Who films (1965,
1966), I, Monster (1971), and others.
By the mid-1970s, these companies had stopped production, but Cushing,
firmly established as a horror star, continued in the genre for some
time thereafter.
Perhaps his best-known appearance outside of horror films was as Grand
Moff Tarkin in George Lucas'
phenomenally successful science fiction film
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986) was Cushing's last film
before his retirement, during which he made a few television
appearances, wrote two autobiographies and pursued his hobbies of bird
watching and painting. In 1989, he was made an Officer of the Order of
the British Empire in recognition of his contributions to the acting
profession in Britain and worldwide. Peter Cushing died at age 81 of
prostate cancer on August 11, 1994.
England, to Nellie Maria (King) and George Edward Cushing, a quantity
surveyor. He and his older brother David were raised first in Dulwich
Village, a south London suburb, and then later back in Surrey. At an
early age, Cushing was attracted to acting, inspired by his favorite
aunt, who was a stage actress. While at school, Cushing pursued his
acting interest in acting and also drawing, a talent he put to good use
later in his first job as a government surveyor's assistant in Surrey.
At this time, he also dabbled in local amateur theater until moving to
London to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on
scholarship. He then performed in repertory theater in Worthing, deciding in 1939
to head for Hollywood, where he made his film debut in
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939).
Other Hollywood films included
A Chump at Oxford (1940) with
Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy,
Vigil in the Night (1940) and
They Dare Not Love (1941).
However, after a short stay, he returned to England by way of New York
(making brief appearances on Broadway) and Canada. Back in his
homeland, he contributed to the war effort during World War II by
joining the Entertainment National Services Association.
After the war, he performed in the West End and had his big break
appearing with Laurence Olivier in
Hamlet (1948), in which Cushing's future
partner-in-horror
Christopher Lee had a bit part.
Both actors also appeared in
Moulin Rouge (1952) but did not meet
until their later horror films. During the 1950s, Cushing became a
familiar face on British television, appearing in numerous teleplays,
such as 1984 (1954) and Beau Brummell (1954), until the end of the
decade when he began his legendary association with Hammer Film
Productions in its remakes of the 1930s Universal horror classics. His
first Hammer roles included Dr. Frankenstein in
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957),
Dr. Van Helsing in Horror of Dracula (1958), and
Sherlock Holmes in
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959).
Cushing continued playing the roles of Drs. Frankenstein and Van
Helsing, as well as taking on other horror characters, in Hammer films
over the next 20 years. He also appeared in films for the other major
horror producer of the time, Amicus Productions, including
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
and its later horror anthologies, a couple of Dr. Who films (1965,
1966), I, Monster (1971), and others.
By the mid-1970s, these companies had stopped production, but Cushing,
firmly established as a horror star, continued in the genre for some
time thereafter.
Perhaps his best-known appearance outside of horror films was as Grand
Moff Tarkin in George Lucas'
phenomenally successful science fiction film
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986) was Cushing's last film
before his retirement, during which he made a few television
appearances, wrote two autobiographies and pursued his hobbies of bird
watching and painting. In 1989, he was made an Officer of the Order of
the British Empire in recognition of his contributions to the acting
profession in Britain and worldwide. Peter Cushing died at age 81 of
prostate cancer on August 11, 1994.