Tuesday 4 May 2021

NEWS: NOT JUST NEWS BUT GREAT NEWS PLUS MAKE UP ARTIST PHIL LEAKEY REMEMBERED


Not just news but GREAT NEWS!
In an auction house far, far away (well, Bristol actually), the enduring power of the force was clear. The Dave Prowse Auction happened today, and the date and the timing were perfect! 

 

A DARTH VADER HELMET sold for £2,200, more than five times the top estimate, and a signed picture of Alec Guinness in his Obi-Wan Kenobi robes was snapped up for £3,100, treble what was anticipated. Someone, somewhere, paid £9,000 for a prototype lightsaber, the weapon of choice of #Jediknights in the Star Wars saga, which the Earthlings at East Bristol Auctions had judged might bring in £80-£120. An image of Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, with Prowse went for £15,000. The interest may well have been the inscription, “For David – You’ll Always Be ‘Dad’ #Vader To Me.”And a colour still from The Empire Strikes Back signed by Prowse and James Earl Jones – who provided Vader’s voice – sold for £4,100.
 

THE AUCTION HOUSE and Alzheimer’s Research UK said they were delighted. Tim Parry, the director of the charity, said: “The response to the auction has been simply incredible and testament to the iconic role David brought to life in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time. Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of bids have been placed from around the world, helping to smash pre-auction estimates. TWO personal letters from #petercushing to Prowse sold for £600! 
 

TODAY we mark and remember the BIRTHDAY of make up artist, PHIL LEAKEY. This is the man we can thank for kick staring the '#Hammer look' not just in their very first #Frankenstein film, 'The Curse of Frankenstein' but a much smaller little flick called 'X The Unknown' in 1956. He started with Hammer when they were first known as exclusive films and moved with them from #OakleyCourt to #DownPlace, which became Bray studios. After Curse of Frankenstein, Leakey would work on other Peter Cushing Hammer films like #TheAbominableSnowman 1957, #Dracula 1958, #TheRevengeofFrankenstein
 


DURING THIS TIME, a young Australian called Roy Ashton, worked along side him as an uncredited assistant. After the feature, 'I Only Asked' Leakey moved on and Ashton, became Hammer's make up artist. Leakey worked on a variety of films, 90 in all retiring in 1975. 
 

HIS LAST HORROR genre feature was ' Vampira' with #DavidNiven, #LindaHayden and #VeronicaCarlson. His last work with #PeterCushing was the TV series 'The Zoo Gang' in an episode called 'The Counterfeit Trap' in 1974.
 

#PhilLeakey, was the gentlest of men, a real gentleman and a real craftsman. Without him putting his mark on the #HammerFilms creations, I doubt they would have had the appeal and the box office draw. Happy Birthday, Phil Leakey!
 

YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 34,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features and prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing  OBE  

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