Peter Cushing
First, let’s get into the basics. Peter Wilton Cushing is an English actor. Many know him for his appearances in various horror films from Hammer Productions, with a lot of them revolving around Dracula. He played roles like Dr. Van Helsing, and appeared in movies such as Dracula, The Brides of Dracula, and many more (number). He was born on May 26th, 1913 in Kenley, Surrey, United Kingdom and died on August 11th, 1994 in Canterbury due to prostate cancer. Aside from his success in acting, he also wrote two autobiographies. Throughout his many achievements in life, he also married Helen Cushing, his only wife, for twenty-eight years. She eventually passed away in 1971.
Something worth mentioning about Cushing was his love for his wife. Quoted in Radio Times, he had said "Since Helen passed on I can't find anything; the heart, quite simply, has gone out of everything. Time is interminable, the loneliness is almost unbearable and the only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that my dear Helen and I will be reunited again some day. To join Helen is my only ambition. You have my permission to publish that ... really, you know, dear boy, it's all just killing time. Please say that" (number). Knowing this says a lot about Cushing’s life, as well as his priorities, and it was clear Helen was one of them.
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Speaking of death, Cushing’s view of it differed from what was considered normal. When Cushing was a child, his mother used to pretend to play dead as a way of punishing him, and perhaps this played a significant part on not only how he sees death, but acting in the movies and shows about such. Of course, his view of death also dramatically altered due to the loss of his wife. With her death also came suicidal thoughts from Cushing, and in an interview on The Human Factor, he said “I was contemplating everything. I knew I'd never have the courage to do it, but you can't have the experience and the love of a person such as Helen and then suddenly it's not there anymore. It's more than three quarters of your own self taken from you. So you either buckle under and say, 'that's it,' and give up, or you have to go on and run the race before you, which is set before you" (number). It is known that the spirit of Cushing suffered for a while, but he continued to work up until he died.
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Interestingly enough, with the use of CGI, Cushing was brought back to life, along with a stand-in actor for 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, which certainly speaks for itself when considering his importance as an actor. It would serve as a compliment to any actor if they were to be used in films even after they have passed.
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Works Cited
(1) The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Peter Wilton Cushing.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Cushing.
(2) “Who Was Peter Cushing? Everything You Need to Know.” Facts, Childhood, Family Life, Achievements & Timeline, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/peter-cushing-38271.php.
(3) Couch, Aaron. “'Rogue One': Peter Cushing's Views on Life, Death and the Beyond Are Worth Revisiting.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/rogue-one-peter-cushings-views-death-revisited-grand-moff-tarkin-return-957353.
Kayla, I really liked your post. I recognized Peter from his work in Star Wars, but had no idea he played Van Helsing. I found his devotion to his wife to be both admirable and heartbreaking. I will say that I am unsure how I feel about the use of CGI to bring him back for Rouge One. I think that it is kind of disrespectful to their legacy and will look worse as CGI technology ages. I also was very surprised about his mother pretending to be dead as a form of punishment. I do not feel this is a good practice for a child.
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