Peter Cushing Net Worth

Peter Cushing's Quotes

• Who wants to see me as Hamlet? Very few. But millions want to see me as Frankenstein so that's the one I do.
• If I played Hamlet, they'd call it a horror film.
• Teeth are a vitally important part of an actor's equipment. I have over 30 toothbrushes at home and always keep a good supply at the studio.
• I hate the word 'hate'.
• [on the wig he had to wear for Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)] It made me look like Helen Hayes.

Interesting Facts about Peter Cushing

1. He turned down Donald Pleasence's role as Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween (1978).
2. He considered The Blood Beast Terror (1968) to be the worst film he ever made.
3. The costume boots they gave Cushing for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (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.
4. 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.
5. He was was originally cast in the lead role in The Man Who Could Cheat Death (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.
6. 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?".
7. His sketch of Sherlock Holmes became the official logo for the Northern Musgraves, a British Sherlock Holmes society.
8. 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.
9. During a television interview, he confessed that fellow actor Christopher Lee had telephoned him earlier that evening to "Wish me luck!".
10. 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.
11. Carrie Fisher said in an interview that doing her scenes with him in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (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.
12. George Lucas originally planned to use archival footage of Cushing from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) for insertion into Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the 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 Star Wars: Rogue One (2016) that archive footage of Cushing could be digitally used to recreate an entire performance of his Tarkin character.
13. Prior to casting Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), George Lucas considered using him as Obi-Wan Kenobi (a role that ultimately went to Alec Guinness).
14. In his later years, he and Joyce DeWitt of Three's Company (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.
15. He was described by many presenters as the best interviewee they had.
16. 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.
17. Cushing reprised his role, with dialog, from his last film Biggles (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.
18. He had appeared as Osric in Hamlet (1948). This was also his first film with Christopher Lee. Alec Guinness also played Osric in John Gielgud's 1934 theatrical production. Cushing, Lee and Guinness all later appeared in the Star Wars films.
19. He was the only one of the main characters from Star Wars not to appear in the sequels (for the obvious reason).
20. 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".