PRYDE VS TARKIN! TIN PIN TARKIN STILL STANDING AS PRYDE JOINS THE SAGA!

OF ALL the items in the PCAS collection, this is something I have a real soft spot for 🙂 It's a Peter Cushing Tarkin Pin / Badge! It was given to me by Gladys Fletcher, who started PCAS back in the 1950's. Seems it was given to her by a fan back in 1977, and she passed it on in 1978. I love the font and considering how old it is now, it's aged rather well. I don't collect pins and I have only worn it to a convention back in 1980. It's lived in a little box for safe keeping since then. There are now many pins, badges, fridge magnets and all sorts depicting Peter as 'the most evil man in the universe!' but as I have never seen this pin anywhere else, it's pretty special . . Over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE we've invited everyone to share images of any special or vintage Cushing, Tarkin or Star Wars pins, and the results are quite interesting!

THERE HAS BEEN AN ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY, of what is seen by some fans as an interesting addition to the army of #STARWARS characters of actor! British actor #RICHARDEGRANT is playing #GeneralPryde, a villain of similar #TARKIN proportions in #THERISEOFSKYWALKER, released this December, is most exciting! I wonder if we will be sharing vintage tin pins of Grant's Thrawn in 40 odd years time??? I do  hope, Grant is my top five favourite actors. We wait, with much anticipation and I don't think, we 'Over Estimate His Chances!' 😉😊😀

NEWS! CHRISTOPHER LEE PERSONAL SCRAPBOOKS DONATED TO THE BFI

NEWS: Released today is the interesting story that BFI has acquired 'never before seen' scrapbooks, that belonged to CHRISTOPHER LEE! The actor’s wife Lady Birgit Lee has donated THREE never-before-seen scrapbooks – which contain promotional shots, stills from films and annotations, and span from 1948 to 1972 – to the BFI archive, where they will be available to the public via its research access service at its Southbank location in London 😊 A very kind and considerate donation, let's hope the BFI honor their intentions 😉😉

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU TODAY! TARKIN BANNER!

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU TODAY . . and always 😉😊 . . . Tarkin's not too happy about it, but over at the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page we are asking, 'How will you spend yours?

THE GENTLEST OF GENTLMEN : STAR WARS CHEWBACCA PETER MAYHEW DIES AGED 74

VERY SAD NEWS to report the passing of PETER MAYHEW, the actor behind Chewbacca in the Star Wars film series has passed aged 74 . . .

PETER MAYHEW was born on May 19, 1944 in Barnes, London, England and  was working as a hospital attendant at the King's College Hospital in London when film producer Charles H. Schneer saw the above photo, a TALL man! Charles H. Schneer cast him in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). It was just over a year later that he was asked if he wanted to do another role. Mayhew was told it was for a big hairy beast. 

THAT ROLE WAS OF COURSE, Chewbacca, the faithful 200 year-old Wookiee in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and his life was changed forever. Following the original Star Wars trilogy, Mayhew has done several commercials in the Wookiee costume including one for Cingular and Orange associated with Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). In 1997, the twentieth anniversary celebrations of Star Wars were announced with the release of the "Special Edition" and all the conventions started. For many years, Mayhew was very active on the "Star Wars" convention circuit where he signed autographs, posed for pics and met his many thousands of friends and fans. He made time to write two books, "Growing Up Giant" and "My Favorite Giant" and founded a non-profit 501(c)3 charity organization called "The Peter Mayhew Foundation" and was the purveyor of chewbacca.com.

FOLLOWING THE ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY, friends and industry shared their messages:

Harrison Ford, who played the character of Han Solo, praised him for his “great dignity and noble character. Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character. These aspects of his own personality, plus his wit and grace, he brought to Chewbacca. We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him. He invested his soul in the character and brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience. Chewbacca was an important part of the success of the films we made together. He knew how important the fans of the franchise were to its continued success and he was devoted to them. I and millions of others will never forget Peter and what he gave us all. My thoughts are with his dear wife Angie and his children.  Rest easy, my dear friend.” 

Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, shared a tribute on social media in which he described Mayhew as the “gentlest of giants”. He added: “A big man with an even bigger heart who never failed to make me smile & a loyal friend who I loved dearly-I’m grateful for the memories we shared & I’m a better man for just having known him. Thanks Pete #RIPPeterMayhew #Heartbroken”. 

Director and creator of Star Wars, George Lucas also paid tribute.“Peter was a wonderful man. He was the closest any human being could be to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature – and I learned to always let him win. He was a good friend, and I’m saddened by his passing.” 

The San Diego Comic-Con Twitter account also shared a message of tribute. “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Peter Mayhew. He was our beloved companion in a galaxy far, far, away. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and fans. The force will be with you always, Peter.” 

Joonas Suotamo took over the role of Chewbacca from Mayhew, first as a body double in Force Awakens and later as the lead in 2017’s The Last Jedi and 2018’s A Star Wars Story. Writing on Twitter, he said: “Devastated to hear about the passing of a dear friend and mentor, the great Peter Mayhew.Peter’s warm welcome when I came aboard as his double in The Force Awakens meant so much to me. Studying the character he helped create was always a daunting task, but one that was made easier by his tutelage and kindness as we sought to bring Chewbacca to life for a new generation. He was an absolutely one-of-a-kind gentleman and a legend of unrivaled class and I will miss him. As the entire Star Wars universe grieves over this terrible loss my thoughts and prayers are with his wife Angie and his family and all of the fans whose lives he has impacted. Rest assured his legacy will live on and the spirit that he gave the character when he first donned the suit will never be forgotten.” 

MAYHEW married his wife,  Mary Angelique ("Angie") in 1999 and together they had three children. He was very happy to become a naturalised citizen of the United States, in 2005. For several years, Mayhew had been plagued by ill heath, pneumonia, under went knee surgery and last year announced via Twitter, that he had successfully undergone unspecified spinal surgery to improve his mobility, and was recovering. 

PETER MAYHEW was extremely popular with fans of the Star Wars films. A regular presence at Star wars events around the world. His portrayal of Chewbacca and the chemistry between his character and that of Harrison Ford's Han Solo, remains one of the enduring emotive elements that has helped make Star Wars, such a success. A very kind, committed and generous man, who will forever be remembered with enormous affection . . . .     

DO YOU STILL HAVE THIS KENNER FIGURE?

THE KENNER Peter Cushing TARKIN figure. Most of you collectors will know the story of this Kenner series figure 🙂 But over at the facebook pcasuk fan page we are asking, just how many of you actually STILL have it? And there are a LOT of answers and comments!

WITHOUT GETTING PLASTERED TARKIN MAY NEVER HAVE RETURNED PLUS A HAMMER GLAMOUR BIRTHDAY!

THINK ABOUT IT! This #THROWBACK THURSDAY post at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE today, has prompted some memories. Make up artist, the late STUART FREEBORN was responsible among many other excellent creations, like the appearnce  #STARWARS YODA, made the prosthetic giant EYE for Cushing Book Store character in the 1984 film, 'Top Secret'. The practice of getting an actor to come into the workshop, and have his ENTIRE face in latex rubber or plaster, was common practice back in the day. Hammer make up artist, Roy Ashton had a whole collection of actors and actresses faces and heads, that he used to produce the latex attachments of some of the studios, best monsters and creatures! 

I GUESS, Freeborn would never have guessed that HIS plaster face of Peter Cushing would go on to be quite central and MAJOR and contentious step in the creation of the CGI Grand Moff Tarkin in the film, 'ROGUE ONE'. FX creators Industrial Light and Magic, found there was little on file, of actual helpful and accurate reference material on Cushing's features and face. A mass of artwork, but only Freeborn's plaster head, could provide the measurements and dimensions that were needed, along with footage of Peter Cushing's performance on the big screen as Tarkin in 'Star Wars: A New Hope, from 1977, to make the CGI possible. The role of the Book Store Owner, was a small guest role and one that Cushing could have easily have passed on. A fact no doubt, that could have effected the potential of making Tarkin's return, along with Guy Henry's assistance . .  a non starter! 

TODAY WE ALSO MARK the birthday of Stephanie Beacham. Beacham has had a very full career on stage, screen and television. Star of tv's 'Tenko', 'The Colbys' 'Dynasty' 'Bad Girls' and 'SeaQuest'... she has also slipped in an episode of 'Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense'. Her Peter Cushing connection links to two films, 'Dracula AD 1972' playing Jessica Van Helsing, granddaughter to Peter Cushing. and 'And Now, The Screaming Starts'... Please join us in wishing her a Happy Birthday!

STEPHANIE BEACHAM: 'My mother Joan had chicken pox when she was pregnant so I was born with no nerve endings in my right ear. I’m totally deaf in that ear and I have just 80% hearing in my left ear. I’ve never heard in stereo and where most people’s hearing is three dimensional, mine is all on the same plane. Background and foreground sounds flatten, out so a car coming down the road is as loud as a person’s voice right next to me. I was taken to a specialist when I was four. They said, ‘She’s perfectly intelligent,’ and my mother said very snappily, ‘I realise that. I know she’s intelligent, she just can’t hear’.
 

'ONE OF THE BIGGEST problems was that deafness and stupidity were often linked together because a speech defect often accompanies the deafness. I’ve never had a speech defect but I still got called ‘Deaf Steph’ at school and because I often didn’t know people were talking to me I’d walk right past them and they assumed I was snooty. In my adult life I’ve always struggled with people sitting to my right at dinner parties as I can’t hear a word and I’ve had to avoid pop concerts or noisy clubs because of my lack of nerve endings. As for my future health, I fully intend to age naturally without cosmetic surgery and there’s nothing that can be done about my saggy neck, apart from a bulldog clip. I’m convinced mental and physical flexibility is the secret to staying young and yoga provides that for me. I’m also aware that you become what you eat so I’ll continue to steer clear of fizzy drinks and too much sugar or salt." - Daily Mirror Newspaper 2107

 

THE MAKING OF A VERY MODERN GENERAL : HOW TO WEAR A COSTUME WITH STYLE

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! MANY OF YOU have often mentioned Cushing's wonderful ability to ware costumes, like they were his every day wear and wear them SO WELL! The role of General von Spielsdorf in Roy Ward Baker's 'The Vampire Lovers' for Hammer in 1970, gave Cushing the opportunity to play another Vampire Hunter, but unlike his Van Helsing, here Cushing notonly plays the role, he also actually WEARS it! Silk dressing gown, general unforms, high collars and hunting cloaks, few actors wore a costume like Cushing in Hammer movie. Indeed, Christopher Lee looked every inch the Count in his cloaks, but look at both actors in Amicus productions, 'I, Monster'.... Here are few rare colour images of Peter looking his best. Without saying a line, as soon as he appeared on the screen in this movie, you knew Ingrid Pitt's Carmilla had met her match . . in supernaturally and style . . .

PETER CUSHING WAS ONE of those very lucky actors, who could wear a Victorian horses nose-fed bag, and still look very much fitting into the period and quite amazing! This uniform so suits him, and unlike the Tarkin 'slipper-episode' these boots fit him, like a glove

PETER CUSHING and actress Pippa Steel. Pippa would also go on to appear in Hammer films, 'Lust For A Vampire' in 1971. A film that Cushing was also set to appear in. Sadly Helen Cushing's health and passing, prevented him from appearing, and Ralph Bates played a re-written version of the role of Giles Barton . .

A DRAMATIC SHOT in colour transparency of Peter Cushing as General von Spielsdorf on set at Elstree film studios, then called Associated British Picture Studios . .the studio photographer probably spotted Peter, waiting during blocking of a shot, and slipped in to take this shot. It's an amazing pic!

WAS CHRISTOPHER LEE APPROACHED TO PLAY GRAND MOFF TARKIN IN 'STAR WARS : A NEW HOPE' ?

A DRIBBLE across the net and on several STAR WARS forums, is the fact or fiction that Christopher Lee was approached to play, Grand Moff Tarkin is the firs Star Wars movie. According to 'the source', 'Christopher Lee suggested Peter Cushing....!' Personally? I have no idea. Posting this story onto the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE has prompted a mixed reaction today. What do you think?

ABOVE: One of the sources sharing the story is STARWARS_FIX