Peter Cushing

Date of Birth: 26 May 1913
Place of Birth: Kenley, Surrey, England, U.K.
Date of Death: 11 August 1994

Peter Cushing "The Gentleman of Horror"

Peter Wilton Cushing was born in 1913 in Kenley, Surrey, England to mother Nellie Marie and father George Edward Cushing. Peter was the younger of two boys born to the Cushing's, his older brother David was born three years earlier. From an early age Peter was interested in acting, his Aunt Maude acted on the stage and his grandfather acted alongside Sir Henry Irving touring England and America.

Peter's first job was at the Purley Urban District Council, as a surveyor's assistant or "only a glorified office boy" as Peter would put it. The job was arranged by his father as George did not want his boy treading the boards exhibiting "artistic temperament" that some of his relatives had done before him. During this time Peter was involved in amateur dramatics and gained a scholarship to Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, which he attended twice a week after work.

Peter left his surveyor's department job in 1936 and found employment with the Worthing Repertory Company as an assistant stage manager, then he moved on to the Southampton Repertory and other companies all over England. In January 1939 he booked passage on a ship from Southampton and took himself off to Hollywood via New York. Shortly after arriving in America he found work as a double for Louis Hayward and a bit part as the King's messenger in the movie, The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), then several other Hollywood movies.

Just after the Second World War broke out in 1939 Peter was ordered to take a medical to see if he was healthy enough to fight for his country but failed, graded 4c, and so was not drafted and shipped back to England. By 1941 Peter had become very homesick and wanted to return home, he worked various jobs throughout America and Canada for the fare back to England. Finally Peter managed to return to England in March of 1942 and within days had joined the Entertainments National Services Association (ENSA), and then toured the British Isles entertaining the troops with Sir Noel Coward's play, Private Lives. Whist Peter was on this assignment he met actress Helen Beck (Violet Helene Beck) in May of the same year, when she joined to replace the leading lady who had to retire due to exhaustion.

Here is part of a letter Helen wrote to a friend about her first meeting with Peter: "...There was an aura about this beloved vagabond. His hands told me he was either a musician or an artist; they reminded me of those drawn by Albrecht Durer and when he bent over one of mine to kiss it, a faint and quite delightful waft of tobacco and lavender water hung upon the air. I knew I would love him for the rest of my days and beyond."

Early in the New Year due to the stresses of the arduous tour both Helen and Peter were invalided out of ENSA, having no engagements they spent a holiday together at Bramber in Sussex. The two were later to marry on the 10th of April 1943 at Kensington register office in London, close to where Helen's parents were living.

Peter took various short stage roles and long periods of unemployment, until by chance a scarf Helen was wearing caught the eye of Roberta Huby, a cast member of the play Peter was appearing in. The scarf had been hand painted by Peter himself as he did not have enough money at the time to buy Helen a Christmas present. Roberta asked to borrow the scarf to show a friend who was a northern textile manufacturer, this lead to Peter gaining 10 months work designing scarves for the manufacturer and one being accepted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

In the autumn of 1946 Sir Laurence Olivier and Anthony Bushell 'spotted' Peter Cushing during the casting of a stage production of Born Yesterday. This fortuitous meeting paved the way for Peter to star as Osric in the movie Hamlet (1948). Peter was now mixing in the right circles and was part of the troupe that travelled with Sir Laurence Olivier on the Old Vic Theatre Company, year long tour of Australia and New Zealand, returning to England in late 1948.

Once more Peter had long periods of unemployment, which lasted all through 1949. Early in 1950 he had a breakdown whilst rehearsing for the play, The Damascus Blade featuring Sir John Mills as the lead and with Sir Laurence Olivier producing, this was to last 6 months. After Peter had recovered from his emotional collapse, Sir Laurence Olivier offered him employment during the festival of Britain in May 1951, this engagement lasted until September.

To help Peter to get some work, his wife Helen made a list of television producers from the Radio Times and wrote to them. She was positive this would be fruitful but Peter remained unconvinced "you are unaware of your own value and what your name means to people" she said, and she was absolutely right. A script for the leading role in the BBC play of J B Priestley's, Eden End was sent to Peter and on the 2nd of December 1951 the show was broadcast live. This was a pivotal point in Peter Cushing's distinguished career in which he featured in many films, television and radio shows. Peter Cushing will probably be best remembered for the Hammer and Amicus productions that he appeared in and is beyond doubt "The Gentleman of Horror".

At this late point in this condensed biography I think it is worth mentioning how devoted Peter Cushing and his wife Helen were and how important she was in Peter's career, giving him support and encouragement. If you read his autobiography or even listen to the tapes narrated by Peter, I think you will find it touching and haunting how he communicates his love and his loss, as well as the trials and triumphs of his eventful life.

Reference: Peter Cushing: An Autobiography (1986)

26/05/07

Biggles (1986)
Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984)
Top Secret! (1984)
House of the Long Shadows (1983)
Monster Island (1981)
Arabian Adventure (1979)
A Touch of the Sun (1979)
Son of Hitler (1978)
Standarte, Die (1977)
The Uncanny (1977)
Shock Waves (1977)
Star Wars (1977)
The Devil's Men (1976)
At the Earth's Core (1976)
Trial by Combat (1976)
The Ghoul (1975)
Legend of the Werewolf (1975)
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
Tendre Dracula (1974)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
The Beast Must Die (1974)
Madhouse (1974)
The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974)
Shatter (1974)
Horror Express (1973)
And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)
The Creeping Flesh (1973)
From Beyond the Grave (1973)
Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)
Asylum (1972)
Fear in the Night (1972)
Tales from the Crypt (1972)
Nothing But the Night (1972)
I, Monster (1971)
Twins of Evil (1971)
The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
Incense for the Damned (1970)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
One More Time (1970)
Scream and Scream Again (1970)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
Corruption (1968)
The Blood Beast Terror (1968)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Night of the Big Heat (1967)
Some May Live (1967)
Torture Garden (1967)
Island of Terror (1966)
Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966)
Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
The Skull (1965)
She (1965)
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
The Gorgon (1964)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
The Man Who Finally Died (1963)
Captain Clegg (1962)
The Naked Edge (1961)
Fury at Smugglers' Bay (1961)
The Hellfire Club (1961)
Cash on Demand (1961)
Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960)
Suspect (1960)
The Brides of Dracula (1960)
Cone of Silence (1960)
The Flesh and the Fiends (1960)
The Mummy (1959)
John Paul Jones (1959)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
Violent Playground (1958)
Dracula (1958)
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Time Without Pity (1957)
Alexander the Great (1956)
Magic Fire (1955)
The End of the Affair (1955)
The Black Knight (1954)
Moulin Rouge (1952)
Hamlet (1948)
They Dare Not Love (1941)
The Tree of Liberty (1940)
Women in War (1940)
A Chump at Oxford (1940)
Vigil in the Night (1940)
Laddie (1940)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

Jim'll Fix It: 'Helen Cushing Rose' (1986)
The Masks of Death (1984)
Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues (1984)
Tales of the Unexpected: The Vorpal Blade (1 episode, 1983)
A Tale of Two Cities (1980)
Hammer House of Horror: The Silent Scream (1 episode, 1980)
The New Avengers: The Eagle's Nest (1 episode, 1976)
The Great Houdini (1976)
Space: 1999: Missing Link (1 episode, 1976)
Jim'll Fix It: Bank Holiday Special (1976)
Great Mysteries (1 episode, 1973)
Film '73 (1973)
La Grande Breteche (1973)
Beyond the Water's Edge (1972)
Sherlock Holmes (Series 2, 16 episodes, 1968)
The Avengers: Return of the Cybernauts (1 episode, 1967)
Late Night Line-Up: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1965)
Horizon: Science Fiction (1965)
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Monica (1 episode, 1965)
The Caves of Steel (1964)
Comedy Playhouse: The Plan (1 episode, 1963)
The Spread of the Eagle (1963)
Peace with Terror (1962)
Uncle Harry (1958)
The Winslow Boy (1958)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Gaslight (1957)
Home at Seven (1957)
Richard of Bordeaux (1955)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: The Moment of Truth (1955)
The Creature (1955)
The Browning Version (1955)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: 1984 (1954)
The Face of Love (1954)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Beau Brummell (1954)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Tovarich (1954)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Portrait by Peko (1953)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Anastasia (1953)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: The Road (1953)
Epitaph for a Spy (1953)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Number Three (1953)
The Noble Spaniard (1953)
Rookery Nook (1953)
A Social Success (1953)
The Silver Swan (1952)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Bird in Hand (1952)
Pride and Prejudice (1952)
If This Be Error (1952)
When We Are Married (1951)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Eden End (1951)

Memorabilia
Trivia
Screenshot Collection

The Official Site of the Peter Cushing Association
Peter Cushing (Wikipedia)