ROY ASHTON MAKE UP ARTIST REMEMBERED

REMEMBERING Master Make Up Artist, Roy Ashton, who was born today 17th April 1909! There is so much you could say about Roy, but his work kind of says it all! So many amazing creations in what was the golden era of Hammer films, Amicus and Tyburn too! I was very humbled to spend time with him at his home and while he was working, and during these times saw at first hand what a true gentleman he was and quite the perfectionist, with a lovely dry wit and friendly character. Roy sadly left us in 1995, but left behind for us, a wonderful and original body of work, that still entertains and frightens us today! Personally, his letters I still treasure, his work I still very much am in awe of, for sure

OVER AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE I have asked everyone to tell us and share their favourite 'Ashton Creation' in the comments below. BELOW is an impressive filmography of Roy's work. A #HappyBirthday, Roy Ashton a true magician and creator of things of nightmares and dreams too 

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The Horror Dracula (1958)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)
The Mummy (1959)
The Stranglers of Bombay (1959)
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)
The Curse of the Werewolf (1960)
The Terror of the Tongs (1961)
These Are the Damned (1962)
The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
Night Creatures (1962) Captain Clegg
The Pirates of Blood River (1962)
 

ABOVE: A WHILE AGO in one of our weekly PCASUK TUESDAY TOUGHY questions, we celebrated ROY ASHTON'S work with PETER CUSHING in 'Tales from the Crypt' (1972)

Paranoiac (1963)
The Old Dark House (1963)
The Crimson Blade (1963)
Nightmare (1964)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
The Kiss of the Vampire (1964)
The Gorgon (1964)
 

Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1964)
The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964)
The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964)
The Skull (1965)
She (1965)
The Plague of the Zombies (1966)
The Reptile (1966)
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
The House That Dripped Blood (1970)
Hands of the Ripper (1971)
The Devils (1971)
Tales from the Crypt (1972)
The Creeping Flesh (1972)
Asylum (1972)
The Vault of Horror (1973)
The Ghoul (1975)

SEE OUR POSTS every day at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE HERE! and the EXPANDED version here!! EXTRA IMAGES and FEATURES every day here at our WEBSITE!

NEWS: INDICATOR PREPARES FIRST EVER RELEASE ON BLU RAY OF AN AMICUS FILMS CLASSIC!

NEWS: No fixed details yet, but #INDICATOR are currently working on what will be the very first release of Amicus films, 'I MONSTER' (1971) starring #ChristopherLee, #PeterCushing and Mike Raven. This is one that has been a very long time coming and most welcome.
 

PART ONE of the behind the scenes PCASUK RARE STILLS Gallery, is RIGHT HERE! 

PART TWO IS RIGHT HERE!

ABOVE: The USA cinema trailer for Amicus films, 'I, MONSTER' starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. A film with a production story, that sometimes is even more dramatic than the film!

THERE ARE NO details on extras, region or stats, but I LOVE that case and poster image design 😊😉

MODELS AND COLLECTABLE MAGAZINES: ARTHUR IS BACK!

YEAH! YOU WANT HIM? I KNOW I want him! But sadly, he...gone! ☹️😢 This neat little figure of Peter Cushing as 'Revenge . .  Dead and Walking' Arthur Grimsdyke from Amicus films, 'Tales from the Crypt' 1972, was made by Readful Things, as a static figure mode and presented as a 'collectable model in it's packaging' for display on your shelf or display case only. NOT for playing with 😉 . . a one of a kind sculpted piece, has no moving parts & should remain in packaging.

BUT HOW NEAT is that? Sadly, out of stock and unlike Arthur, probably never to return. It's a great figure that captures one of the rare times Cushing wore THAT kind of make up. A job that both he and master make-up artist, Roy Ashton, loved creating. The 'Tales from the Crypt' story is a firm favourite with many, BUT sooooo hard to endure and watch. 'Snifffffff!. . . Gosh, it's sad. A bit like this figure, a missed opportunity to own 😢 What do you think?- Marcus : MANY thanks to Rob Shaw who posted the link to us earlier 😉

A FUN DAY HERE and at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE,yesterday! We celebrated #worldbookday, with some interesting comments and messages. No doubt you may be wondering where the #PCASUK #competition is for winning those cracking Cushing books???

THAT will be posted tomorrow 😉 'Issues' on this side of the page, has delayed it, my apols. Meanwhile, today over at the  FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE still on the subject of paper matter, books and mags... I've been asking, if you can recall what was the FIRST book or mag you bought with Cushing in it... that you purchased because he was the reason??? Going back a bit huh? No prob if it has long gone, but if not snap a pic I would love to see it and attach it to your comment.

 

ABOVE HERE is mine. Purchased after my loving Gran bought me two Famous Monster for my eight birthday 😊😄 I bought it, at the wee age of 13 years old, from a REAL dodgy newspaper shop . .. a LOT of top shelf oddities.. cough... in Blackpool on holiday with a Aunty, as you do 😝😜😆 .. I wandered in not knowing WHAT kind of magazine store it was! Well, THAT'S my excuse. 😉 What it was doing in there, on a carousel rack, I have no idea. But this well worn magazine, went with me everywhere for a long time, school, visiting family, church (HA!) I still love it and the cover is amazing 😊 Next, I asked everyone, What did they buy and lets see?? There were some great mags!

THIS VINTAGE CRACKER FROM M. MONTAGRIFF

 

AND THIS GREAT ISSUE 86 FAMOUS MONSTERS

 ISSUE FROM M.H. ROLLIE!  

#WORLDBOOKDAY2020 COMPETITION : THE AMAZING AND STRANGE BOOKS THAT HAVE FEATURED PC!

TODAY is #International / #WorldBookDay2020 😐What a great opportunity to share and take of the best of books, that feature #PeterCushing and his work, his autobiographies, their contents, repackaging, YOUR favourite books that include PC and what maybe the rarest of books that covers a specific time and studio he for who he may have produced some for his best fantasy genre work. PLUS there's a chance to WIN a nice bundle of Peter Cushing books too 😊 So, which are YOUR favourites and how do they compare to other Cushing books??? 😉- Marcus

#WORLDBOOKDAY2020 : IF A BOOK is considered to be rare, because of it's limited edition run .. . then this one I think ticks the box . .. BUT there's more! 😉 'Amicus : The Vault of Horror' was published back in 2014. Its author Donald Fearney was at that time, raising funds to support the budget of his planned 2 and a half hour long dvd documentary, of the same name. Over three years, a vast bank of material was brought together, a small fortune spent in order to support the needs of the documentary visuals. Contact sheets, rare photographs, posters, scripts, correspondence and more is used in the subject matter... every theatrical released film, that the company Amicus produced!

ABOVE: FRIENDS SENT IN AND POSTED PICS OF THEIR FAV CUSHING BOOKS TO ON THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE

IT WAS QUITE THE HAUL and much of the material, due to time restrictions, was not included in the edited documentary. This plus the visuals that made the final edit and included in doc make up the contents of this book! The hardback glossy cover with sepia tint, features Peter Cushing in one of his most loved and sad performances, Arthur Grimsdyke from the Amicus 1972 'Tales from the Crypt' ... there after a forward by director of Amicus films, 'I,Monster' Stephen Weeks, rolls out a pretty impressive huge collection of full page, minus boarders behind the scenes photographs, studio photographers contact sheets back / white and colour too, set drawings and set designer plans .. and more. The matt finish to the pages, is a nice touch. What is more, after Week's intro page... there isn't a word of text! Not a titter! The visuals say it all. A brave move, an even more interesting point is, this book only had a VERY limited run of ONE DOZEN COPIES. No more. It's asking price was reachable and certainly worth it.The book was promoted in a whisper, on the release of Fearney's Amicus documentary . . and before you knew it, gone! Many of the contents I have shared here for you on the Facebook PCASUK Fan page and website over the last few years. Yup it's a go to book for material alright . . I think both Milton and Max would have liked it too! -

AT THE TIME OF THE release of the AMICUS  : VAULT OF HORROR dvd documentary and the BOOK, we gave away many copies of the Doc as PRIZES in PCASUK Competitions too... BUT understandably, NOT the book 😀😊

UPDATE: EVEN THOUGH ALL DOZEN COPIES vanished very quickly. . .with one copy being given away as a prize, connected to the release of the DVD, where a 'Torture Garden' packet of seeds inside the DVD case contained an exclusive 'prize entry draw number'. That gave book owners the chance of winning a copy of the book . .  BUT following a comment by follower Ann Keil on the PCAS Facebook Page last night, it appears there is the chance of buying just one copy NOW.... The copy THAT was won by the lucky seed packet winner, yesterday decided to part with their copy! Maybe they saw the post on the PCAS Facebook Fan Page post??? It's  currently on EBAY and sitting with a bid of £899.00. This copy also contains 18 signatures and autographs of actors and people connected with Amicus films, including Amicus producer, Milton Subosky's actual past-port photograph, attached to the inside of the cover!!! 😮😀... We'll keep you posted on the progress of the bidding 😉😀

 

ONE LAST WORD ON THIS BOOK... as if a low publishing number wasn't tempting enough, there was also just TWO copies that had an extra supplement of a further 60 pages... One thing for sure, Fearney published his books like his documentaries, packed and full of rare material - Marcus (PCASUK) 

#WORLDBOOKDAY2020 : ANOTHER BOOK OF NOTE... and probably one of the strangest books I have ever read, certainly on the subject of Peter Cushing is ..... 'Peter Cushing: Spending Time with #Frankenstein' written by Nicolas Gadd, published also in a limited run by it seems #PeterCushing's own little label 'Sea Way Publishing' .. priced £15.00, soft cover, held together with like a binder! This appeared in the last few years of Peter's life, had his full support and supplied endless hours of access to him personally... Gadd, his wife and Cushing were close friends.. for a while. No doubt it reads as weird, it also reveals some very odd and private details, which has for years has had me more than scratching my head. It was around for about a year.. then puff, vanished! 😳😯 I would love to chat with ANYONE who also holds or owns a copy of this, as in my experience of the last ten years NO ONE wants to discuss this book, but I would love to hear what they make of it too..Message me at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE OR email me @ theblackboxclub@gmail.com. If you are missing some pages, I will gladly supply them for you, as this book is not only strange, it's fragile too! 

VALENTINES DAY SURPRISE THATS ALL HEART AND TRUE LOVE

A #VALENTINESURPRISE .... like no other! Revenge delivered on #ValentinesDay, with #PeterCushing as Arthur Grimsdyke in 'Tales from the Crypt' (1972) . .  below I have posted a screen capture from Peter's 'Poetic Justice' tale from 'Tales from the Crypt' that includes a framed photograph of Grimsdyke's wife, Helen. Despite what many presume, this isn't actually a photograph of Peter Cushing's wife, Helen who sadly passed away on 14 January 1971. . . the film was released on 28th September 1972... This is a stock photograph of another actress. But, Helen did appear in a framed photograph, as Peter's character's wife in Tyburn films, 'The Ghoul' in 1975

PETER AND HELEN CUSHING : ' I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you...' Both Peter and Helen Cushing were True Valentines and inseparable, even after Helen's passing. Here is Helen's short piece she wrote for a magazine back in the early 1960's, about how they met and there love for each other... '

ABOVE: RARE news reel footage of Peter and Helen at a film premier evening in 1959

LUCKY PCAS WINNERS ANNOUNCED AND COMPETITION FIVE STILL LIVE!

FOUR OF THE FIVE PCAS CUSHING CHRISTMAS COMPETITIONS LUCKY WINNERS have now been drawn and you will find the WINNING ENTRIES and the COMPETITION ANSWERS here on the LINKS below and at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, which was posted on JANUARY 2020! Congratulations everyone who was lucky to bag yourselves some superb PRIZES this Christmas 😀 There is ONE Cushing Christmas Competition that is STILL LIVE, Competition FIVE,  but it closes at MIDNIGHT GMT. So if you have not entered, there is still time to get YOUR ENTRY IN NOW! GOOD LUCK! 😮😀

THE LINKS TO THE FOUR COMPETITION RESULTS AND WINNERS NAMES ARE HERE: COMPETITION ONE!   COMPETITION TWO!  COMPETITION THREE!   COMPETITION FOUR! 

CUSHING CHRISTMAS COMPETITION FIVE can be found HERE at the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page and is OPEN and LIVE until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT GMT! Good Luck! 😊😉 - Marcus 

PCASUK CUSHING CHRISTMAS COMPETITION WINNER NUMBER FOUR!!

THE DRAWING OF OUR FOUR LUCKY PCAS Christmas Cushing Competition Winners, is happening throughout today, at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE TODAY! SO HERE COMES NUMBER FOUR!

CONGRATULATIONS FRANTIC FRANKY.. and a Happy New Year!  😃😊😀

THE ANSWER we were looking for was . .  D) Berkley Square! Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition 😊

FOUR PCASUK CHRISTMAS COMPETITIONS are now closed, and proved to be our VERY popular indeed! We shall be sure to do it all again in Christmas 2020! ONE competition, for our New Year remains open until Jan 12th 2020! CERTAINLY worth a try 😉  JUST CLICK HERE!