"If I played Hamlet, they'd call it a horror film."
English actor (1913-1994). Born in
Kenley,
Surrey on May 26, 1913, he was attracted in early life to
acting because his favorite aunt was an actress. He studied
theater and
art when he was in school and put his
drawing talents to work on his first job as a government
surveyor's assistant. He also sold
hand-painted scarves to make ends meet.
After volunteering in his local
amateur theater, he received a
scholarship to
London's
Guildhall School of Music and Drama and performed in
repertory theater. He movied to
Hollywood in 1939 and made his screen debut in a bit part in "
The Man in the Iron Mask." He also appeared in a
Laurel and Hardy movie called "
A Chump at Oxford" before moving to
New York City for some small plays on
Broadway, north to
Canada, then back home to
England.
Cushing's big break came after World War II and after a string of
performances in the
West End when he appeared as
Osric with
Laurence Olivier in 1948's "Hamlet." (
Christopher Lee also had a small part in "Hamlet," and Cushing and Lee both appeared in 1952's "
Moulin Rouge," but the two future horror kings didn't actually meet each other until the late 1950s.) Cushing appeared in a number of
teleplays on British TV, including "
Pride and Prejudice," "
1984," and "
Beau Brummell."
Cushing became a
horror movie superstar in 1957, when he starred as
Dr. Frankenstein (to Lee's shambling monster) in "
The Curse of Frankenstein."
Hammer Films' full-color, dripping-
bloody remake of
Universal Studios' classic "
Frankenstein" was a massive hit, prompting Hammer to make more
horror films, including "
Horror of Dracula" in 1958 (Cushing was Van Helsing, Lee was Dracula), "
Revenge of Frankenstein" in 1958, and "
The Mummy" in 1959 (Cushing played John Banning, with Lee as the title monster). He also took on horror films for other studios, including "
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors," "
I, Monster," and many others.
Cushing may be even better known for some of his other roles. He delivered one of the best
performances of
Sherlock Holmes ever in 1959's "
The Hound of the Baskervilles," in a TV series in the mid-'60s, and in a TV movie in 1984. He was the arrogant
Grand Moff Tarkin in "
Star Wars." And he even played
Dr. Who (but a human, non-extraterrestrial, non-canon Dr. Who) in 1965's "
Dr. Who and the Daleks" and 1966's "
Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D." And he had a chance to play another famous horror character -- he was
John Carpenter's first choice to play the obsessed Dr. Loomis in "
Halloween."
Some of Cushing's other
films included: "
The Flesh and the Fiends," "
The Brides of Dracula," "
Captain Clegg," "
Sword of Sherwood Forest," "
The Evil of Frankenstein," "
The Gorgon," "
Island of Terror," "
Frankenstein Created Woman," "
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed," "
Scream and Scream Again," "
The Vampire Lovers," "
The House that Dripped Blood," "
Tales from the Crypt" (the 1972 movie, not the TV show), "
Dr. Phibes Rises Again," "
Asylum," "
Dracula A.D. 1972," "
The Creeping Flesh," "
The Satanic Rites of Dracula," "
Madhouse," "
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell," "
The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires," "
The Beast Must Die," "
Legend of the Werewolf," "
The Ghoul," "
At the Earth's Core," "
The Uncanny," "
A Touch of the Sun," "
House of the Long Shadows," "
Top Secret!," "
The Masks of Death," and "
Biggles: Adventures in Time."
After retiring, Cushing wrote two
autobiographies, indulged in his
hobbies of
bird watching and
painting
watercolors, and was made an
Officer of the British Empire. He died of
prostate cancer on August 11, 1994 in Canterbury, Kent.
Interesting trivia that I did not know before: Cushing was a
vegetarian.
Research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) and too many vegetarian websites to list...