Quiz

Often worked with his off-screen inseparable friend Christopher Lee frequently playing mortal enemies on-screen. After he died, Lee said in an interview that he never felt closer and more open to any of his other friends than he felt to Peter.

He and his best friend Christopher Lee were huge fans of the Looney Tunes cartoons. They would often imitate the voices of characters to one another and they were once asked to leave a theater showing a Sylvester and Tweety cartoon, because they were laughing hysterically.

In 1945 with no money for presents, he found a large piece of silk, cut it into a neat square, painted Dickens characters on it and gave it to his wife as a present. She later loaned it to a friend who wore it to a party where it was seen by a textile manufacturer who gave Peter a contract as a silk scarf designer. Amongst those he designed were those for the Festival of Britain and the Coronation.

The costume boots they gave Cushing for Guerre stellari (1977) were too small and hurt his feet. Cushing told George Lucas this, and asked if he could wear slippers instead. Lucas agreed, and shot Cushing from the waist up for nearly all his scenes to compensate for Cushing's slippers.

Was nicknamed "Props" because of his skill with using props to make his performances more natural. His characters frequently were fussing with one object or another in ways that made sense in the story or gave depth to the character. When cast in a role, he would often surprise the director with a list of things that the character would be carrying in their pockets, and how they would use them. This skill is often studied by actors today.

Carrie Fisher said in an interview that doing her scenes with him in Guerre stellari (1977) were difficult for two reasons: she thought the lines were ridiculous and she found Peter to be so polite and charming off camera that it was hard to project the sense of disdain that her character, Princess Leia Organa, held for his character, Grand Moff Tarkin.

In his autobiography, Cushing implies that he attempted suicide on the night of his wife's death by running up and down stairs in the vain hope that it would induce a heart attack. He later stated that this had simply been a hysterical response borne out of grief, and that he had not purposely attempted to end his life; a poem left by Helen had implored him not to die until he had lived his life to the full, and he had resolved that to commit suicide would have meant letting her down. Although not conventionally religious, Cushing maintained a belief both in God and an afterlife. Cushing's colleagues of that period commented on his faith and his conviction that his separation from his wife was only temporary.

He wrote to BBC program Jim'll Fix It (1975) asking that a new rose be bred and named after his late wife. Jimmy Savile agreed and the process was filmed ending with the creation of a new strain of yellow rose being presented to Peter.

He was very proud of his experiences with the Hammer films, and never resented becoming known as a horror actor. 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.

He was known among his colleagues for his gentle and gentlemanly demeanour, as well as his professionalism and rigorous preparation as an actor. Cushing once said he would learn his parts "from cover to cover" before filming began. His co-stars and colleagues often spoke of his politeness, charm, old-fashioned manners and sense of humour. While working, he actively provided feedback and suggestions on other elements beyond his performance, such as dialogue and wardrobe. At times, this put him at odds with writers and producers; Hammer Studios producer Anthony Hinds once declared him a "fusspot [and] terrible fusser about his wardrobe and everything, but never a difficult man.".

He was an artist, skilled in drawing and painting; as a young struggling actor, he supplemented his income by selling scarves that he hand-painted and later, as an established actor, had showings of his water colors.

He was so ubiquitous on live television in Britain in the early 1950s that one popular comedian joked: "You know what television is, don't you? It's Peter Cushing with knobs".

He appeared in a total of 24 films with his close friend Christopher Lee: Amleto (1948), Moulin Rouge (1952), Alessandro il grande (1956), La maschera di Frankenstein (1957), Dracula il vampiro (1958), La furia dei Baskerville (1959), La mummia (1959), Codice ZX3 controspionaggio! (1962), Lo sguardo che uccide (1964), Le cinque chiavi del terrore (1965), La dea della città perduta (1965), Il teschio maledetto (1965), Demoni di fuoco (1967), Terrore e terrore (1970), Controfigura per un delitto (1970), La casa che grondava sangue (1971), La vera storia del Dottor Jekyll (1971), 1972: Dracula colpisce ancora! (1972), Pánico en el Transiberiano (1972), Il cervello dei morti viventi (1973), Il terrore viene dalla pioggia (1973), I satanici riti di Dracula (1973), Avventura araba (1979) and La casa delle ombre lunghe (1983).

He was not a particular fan of horror or science fiction films, but he tended to chose roles not based on whether he enjoyed them, but whether he felt his audience would enjoy him in them.

He was described by many presenters as the best interviewee they had.

After retiring from acting, he wrote and illustrated a children's book of Lewis Carroll-style humor, The Bois Saga.

His sketch of Sherlock Holmes became the official logo for the Northern Musgraves, a British Sherlock Holmes society.

Although he appeared in both television and stage productions, he preferred the medium of film, which allowed his perfectionist nature to work out the best performance possible. He did not enjoy the repetitive nature of stage performances, and once compared it to a painter being forced to paint the same picture every day.

George Lucas originally planned to use archival footage of Cushing from Guerre stellari (1977) for insertion into Star Wars: Episodio III - La vendetta dei Sith (2005). This would have made Episode III Cushing's final, albeit posthumous, collaboration with Christopher Lee. However, none of the footage was suitable to Lucas' needs. Therefore, Wayne Pygram was cast, and made to wear prosthetic make-up so that he would resemble Cushing. It was not until Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) that archive footage of Cushing could be digitally used to recreate an entire performance of his Tarkin character.

He was an ardent vegetarian for most of his life and was the patron of the Vegetarian Society from 1987 until his death.

Prior to casting Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in Guerre stellari (1977), George Lucas considered using him as Obi-Wan Kenobi (a role that ultimately went to Alec Guinness).

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1989 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to drama.

Cushing reprised his role, with dialog, from his last film Avventura nel tempo (1986) in the video for the movie's theme song "No Turning Back" by The Immortals. He appears at the end to tell the camera: "I'm a restless sort of guy." Technically, this makes it his last performance and his last line of dialog.

As a child and having a strong cockney accent, he felt ashamed of the way he spoke in general and took to having elocution lessons.

Whitstable based British band The Jellybottys has written a song about him, with lyrics about him living in Whitstable, riding on his bicycle and buying vegetables. The song is called: Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable.

He turned down Donald Pleasence's role as Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween - La notte delle streghe (1978).

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.

He was offered three times to play The Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), but he declined. He regretted that decision.

During a television interview, he confessed that fellow actor Christopher Lee had telephoned him earlier that evening to "Wish me luck!".

In his later years, he and Joyce DeWitt of Tre cuori in affitto (1976) fame became transatlantic pen pals, when the two became part of the voice-over ensemble for the animated film Walpurgis Night. Peter recorded his role in England, while Joyce later commenced recording in California, alongside his old friend Ferdy Mayne. It was during this time that Joyce, being a fan of both classic films and Shakespeare's works, and Peter, an admirer of the American West, enjoyed their friendship by post.

He considered Il mostro di sangue (1968) to be the worst film he ever made.

He bought a seafront home in 1959 in Whitstable, Kent, England upon retiring. There is a pub there today dedicated to his memory, "The Peter Cushing".

He had a variety of interests outside of acting, including collecting and battling with model soldiers, of which he owned over five thousand. He also loved games and practical jokes, and enjoyed drawing and painting watercolours, the latter of which he did especially often in his later years.

He was guest of honor at the Famous Monsters of Filmland Convention in New York City in 1975. After receiving a thunderous ovation from those in attendance, he looked at everyone and said, "Have you ever felt unloved?".

Following the passing of his wife, Peter Cushing didn't make any public appearances from 1971 to 1982.

He was preferred to original Doctor Who (1963) lead actor William Hartnell as star of Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) because he was more widely recognized by American audiences.

He was was originally cast in the lead role in L'uomo che ingannò la morte (1959), dropped out down shortly before filming began. When Cushing claimed illness after breaking his oral commitment, the studio threatened legal action against its biggest star but didn't follow through.

When the documentary about "Hammer" films "Flesh and Blood" was being made, Peter Cushing was too ill to travel to London to record his narration for the program. A studio was found in Canterbury, Kent instead.

He dropped out of Mircalla, l'amante immortale (1971) and L'abominevole Dr. Phibes (1971) in order to care for his ailing wife.

He appeared in three films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: Amleto (1948), Moulin Rouge (1952) and Guerre stellari (1977). Hamlet won Best Picture.

Is an acting idol of fellow Guerre stellari (1977) co-star, Mark Hamill.

In October 2020, he was honored as Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month.

Admitted that he didn't enjoy playing Doctor Who in the two 1960s films.

He played Sherlock Holmes in La furia dei Baskerville (1959), Sherlock Holmes (1964) and La maschera della morte (1984) and his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Il grande Houdini (1976).

He and Christopher Lee appeared together in two films outside of the Hammer Studio Horror genre: their first film together was Amleto (1948), and they appeared together in Moulin Rouge (1952). They later went to appear in separate films in the Star Wars series: Cushing in Guerre stellari (1977), and Lee in Star Wars: Episodio II - L'attacco dei cloni (2002) and Star Wars: Episodio III - La vendetta dei Sith (2005). They would also appear separately in adaptations of Alexandre Dumas pere's Musketeer novels: Cushing appeared in La maschera di ferro (1939), while Lee appeared in I tre moschettieri (1973), Milady (1974) and Il ritorno dei tre moschettieri (1989).

He made seven films with Michael Ripper: La vendetta di Frankenstein (1958), La mummia (1959), Le spose di Dracula (1960), Il giardino delle torture (1967), Il terrore viene dalla pioggia (1973) and Legend of the Werewolf (1975).

Both he and his La morte dietro il cancello (1972) and La maledizione (1973) co-star Herbert Lom played Professor Van Helsing in films starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula: Cushing in Dracula il vampiro (1958), 1972: Dracula colpisce ancora! (1972) and I satanici riti di Dracula (1973) and Lom in Il conte Dracula (1970). Cushing also played the role in Le spose di Dracula (1960) and La leggenda dei 7 vampiri d'oro (1974), in which Lee did not appear.

In his spare time he watched birds, collected stamps and built sets for his model theatre,.

Christopher Lee offered him the lead role of Sgt. Howie in The Wicker Man (1973), but he turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.

His workload increased considerably between 1971 and 1983, appearing in about 32 films, numerous TV appearances and recording audio books for blind people.