Friday 9 April 2021

HRH PRINCE PHILLIP DUKE OF EDINBURGH AND PETER CUSHING 1958

VERY SAD TO HEAR of the passing of the late, HRH Prince Phillip this afternoon... I'll miss him. I thought he was quite a character, no nonsense, a little prickly, made ripples, outspoken and certainly a 'got things done' chap. His 'Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme' for young people, started back in 1956, was and still is an amazingly popular scheme, it has helped millions into opportunities and life changing paths. 
 
TWO YEARS AFTER that launch, he attended the premier of a British film that also caused ripples at the time, Violent Playground. Here is a snap of the premier with cast meeting #HRHPrincePhillip, including Peter Cushing, with Stanley Baker and David McCallum. RIP HRH Prince Phillip . . .
 

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WHEN PETER CUSHING MET WITH ROGER MOORE : TARKIN RETURNS : CINEMA FANTASTIQUE AND FRENCH CINEMA AWARDS 71

When #PeterCushing and #RogerMoore met on the set of Hammer's 'The Vampire Lovers' 1970 . . .

CANDID CUSHING: Peter Cushing relaxes during the making of 'House of the Long Shadows' smoking a cigarette, wearing his familiar white cotton glove !


SPOILERS! The upcoming animated series Star Wars: 'The Bad Batch' will see the return of not only Clone Force 99, but also many other characters from the greater Star Wars franchise. . . including Peter Cushing's much loved and respected Grand Moff Tarkin. Sounds exciting, so I will say no more... what do you think?

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on May 4, 2021, Star Wars day, with a special 70-minute episode. The second episode will release on May 7, 2021, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly.
 

FOR SUCH AN ACCOMPLISHED ACTOR, with such a long and varied career, Peter Cushing after his early TV awards in the 1950's wasn't acknowledge, by his peers maybe as much as he should have been. He was very surprised and humbled to be awarded his OBE in 1989 but the award he was presented with in 1971, for his performance as Arthur Grimsdyke in 'Tales from the Crypt' he was particularly proud of.
 
This was presented to him at the 2nd French Convention of Fantasy Cinema. They also acknowledge him with 'Most Popular Actor in France 1971 – 2nd French Convention of Fantasy Cinema (For his roles in Fantasy Entertainment and service to the cinema) too! These awards are now owned by Simon Greetham, who was kind enough to take some snaps and send them to me, to share today... 
 

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  

Thursday 1 April 2021

STAR WARS : NEW HOPE : FOUND PETER CUSHING 'MOFF' TARKIN SKETCH TO GO UNDER THE HAMMER! EXPERTS FLAP!


NEWS: #STARWARS! Much interest, today over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE about a discovered page in a Cushing Sketch Book, that Makes Experts Flap! Expect an UPDATE later today . . . . 😏😉 


ABOVE AND BELOW: Peter Cushing personal script for the 1975 Amicus film 'AT THE EARTH'S CORE' with a quick pen sketch that Cushing made inside of his character, Dr Abner Perry, with notes about make up during the shooting of him being chased by a dinosaur type creature, where 'dirt and mud' are to be applied and his umbrella, being used as a weapon to frighten the creature away.. Put BROLLY UP but get it DOWN again'. Also study drawings by Peter of him as Sherlock Holmes, can be found in his personal script of Hammer films 1959, 'THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES' 
 


UPDATE! First, thank you to everyone who 'clicked' with the motive, played along with this load of silliness, when it went up early, early this morning. This drawing I believe was drawn by Scoot Gooder a Star Wars fan when he was a kid and caught my eye. Amazing Scoot, and thank you! Scoot drew this in a diary, with a different date..which as a HINT, I changed to a different one. Peter Cushing did many sketches and artwork, based on his roles and ideas for costumes... the two in the thread are real and legit 😊 Peter was a very accomplished artist and studied under artist Edward Seago (1910-1974)
 
Peter also did in the 'One Way Ticket To Hollywood', say that he wondered what a MOFF was, and asked if it flapped out of closets. I took some licence and just tweaked the quote. There is no auction, at 'Sotheby's' for this drawing, the BFI ain't bidding either. But the Canterbury Auction in July 1996, did take place.
 

 ABOVE: Last years shameful April 1st wind up.....
 
This is only the third time, w have marked APRIL FOOL'S Day (April 1st) ..which kinda has quite a health tradition in the UK, where I am sat, right now...or am I?? 😏😁Maybe we'll do the same, same time, next year. Maybe...... - Marcus  
 

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     

Tuesday 30 March 2021

PETER CUSHING TALKS PSYCHO : LEE PLAYS SANTA AND PLAYS FOR LAUGHS WITH DRACULA


PETER CUSHING TALKS ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S PSYCHO! Yes, you read that title right! Maybe the last film you would ever have thought, you would ever hear Peter Cushing discussing, as he often shared that he didn't watch violent films or even more surprising, 'Horror Fantasies', like the themed films he himself appeared in! But here we are, part of an interview, we'll be sharing in it's entirety, at the   Facebook PCASUK Fan Page  very soon! You can catch this extract at the Facebook Page now,HERE!  
 

ABOVE: From our PCASUK supplement website/blog TheBlackBoxClub.Com, here is a selection of rare on set and scene stills from Hitchcock's PSYCHO, which might just put you in moood to watch the film or indeed if you have not seen the film, see if you agree with Cushing's opinion?  Just CLICK HERE! 
 

LAST WEEKEND on the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page themed #CHRISTOPHERLEE Saturday, I made and shared this little gem image banner! HO HO OH! Who would have thought that Christopher Lee once guested as FATHER CHRISTMAS and entertained children and families at London's Selfridge's department store? I am not sure what year this could have been, but I'll put a guess on late 60's to early 1970's? Maybe you know better? Either way, the sharing of these images has stirred quite an interest on the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page, with some followers making reference to Lee's early working days in the UK store, Simpsons, too.
 

ANOTHER SHARED LEE PHOTOGRAPH
, that also stirred up interest this weekend, is this on set still of Lee in his canvas set chair, in a costume or film I couldn't place! We all agreed, we LOVED the coat and the cane. But it took,
Nicholas Dubreuil, from France to supply us with the film and role! It is the 1976, ' DRACULA PÈRE ET FILS',(Dracula Father and Son) with Lee costumed as the titled character, here sitting in the forest of Rambouillet near Paris, no less! To my shame, I must admit to never having seen this film, as everytime I tried to get my hands on a copy, it proved to be so bad a print, with even worse audio, it proved unwatchable. But, I hope to remedy this year. One of many Christopher Lee films, I have yet to catch!
 


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LEE, HERVE VILLECHAIZE AND THE GOLDEN GUN : SELFIES WITH PETER CUSHING AND REMEMBERING RALPH BATES 30 YEARS ON


HERE'S SMALL SELECTION OF POST FROM THE LAST WEEK AT OUR FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE. YOU'LL FIND LINKS TO THE FEATURES, IN THE TEXT!
 
#ChristopherLee and Herve Villechaize, in a 1974 promo interview with Bobby Wygant for 'The Man with the Golden Gun' ... there is much in this chat, that makes quite insensitive, un-pc and weird viewing today. In 1974 the producers idea of teaming a 6ft 4' actor with a "person of short stature" a great box office and commercial angle.
 

SOME TODAY, would no doubt still see that to be the case. What is interesting here is, learning of Lee's problems too. Make of it what you will, even without these awkward areas, it is still a strange interview today . . Although, personally for Lee, his intelligence and good manners, maybe saves his day? What do you think?? You'll find this post at the facebook fan page, RIGHT HERE!
 

CANDID CUSHING: Peter Cushing and his wife Helen at the premiere of 'The End Of The Affair' in London, February 1955
 

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY REQUESTED RE-POST How cool is this? Peter Cushing's walks through his home town of Whitstable were often opportunities for visiting fans to bump into Peter and have a chat, but also Peter had many friends in the town, who he would often meet on the street or beach, during his daily jaunt. One of these were the Hewlett family. Many UK followers here will I am sure recognise Donald from the extremely popular 1970's BBC tv comedy series, 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum', in which he played Colonel Charles Reynolds 😀 Peter was very good friends with the family. This photograph was taken on the beach just outside Peter's own front door  . . .
 

WHEN FRASER MET PETER CUSHING: Thanks to Fraser Tennant who sent in this pic of his meeting with PC in Whitstable back in 1986. If you have pic of a meeting with Peter Cushing that you'd like to share, we'd love to share it! Here's Fraser story behind this meeting: 'This picture was taken on 27 July 1986 in Whitstable, Kent, but outside a bookshop (the name of which I can no longer recall). 
 
'My family and I had gone to Whitstable on holiday with the vague notion of perhaps meeting Cushing , I cannot recall why we thought this, but it was around the time of the publication of his first autobiography. We visited the afore-mentioned bookshop where we were told that he was away. As we were leaving Whitstable we stopped at the Tudor Tea Rooms where we encountered the man himself. Being slightly intimidated at that time, my father approached him first and then I went over to speak to him face-to-face. I remember he was reading a Sherlock Holmes story'.
 
'Next he kissed my mother’s hand and we all discussed a few things including that week’s Royal Wedding (Andrew and Sarah) and the House of the Long Shadows film. He then went outside and got on his bike and we went back to meet him at the bookshop where the picture was taken and he signed a number of items for me including the book and some photographs. I’m really so glad that we got a picture as memory does tend to fade after a while....' 
 

POSTED ON MARCH 27TH, THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF ACTOR RALPH BATES PASSING…. 'The actor RALPH BATES, who sadly left us 30 years ago today, pictured here with his son Will Bates, who also played his on screen son in the sitcom Dear John. A much loved man by everyone who ever met him.... and very good friend to lovers of his films, always had a smile, never turned down an interview, such a lovely, solid bloke.
 





 



HERE ARE SOME IMAGES taken by Ralph Bates wife, Virginia Wetherell Bates of Ralph Bates resting place along with his memorial at Chiswick Cemetery, London. Many thanks to Timon Goode for sharing these. . . - Marcus 
 


"When Ralph was diagnosed as having cancer of the pancreas, I was told that nothing could be done and he only had between six and eight weeks left to live. He was 50 years old, playing in the West End with a movie lined up for the autumn….he and our 13 year old son, William, had enjoyed the summer together messing about in boats and he’d spent many evenings with Daisy, our daughter, helping her with lines for the TV series, “Forever Green”. I couldn’t believe this was happening to my family…surely it wasn’t true, something could be done.
 
But it couldn’t. And in spite of the tremendous care at the Royal Masonic Hospital, the predictions were correct. Ten weeks and one day later, Ralph died”
 
Virginia Bates - Ralph Bates Wife  
 

The Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, is a registered charity with trustees of Virginia Bates, Dr John Glees MD FRCR, Michael Bridge FCA, Sharon Sullivan, Nigel Baly BSC, Les Biggs ACIS (Secretary) and Sir Peter Blake CBE,RDI,RA. If you need their help or want to make a contribution or contact them , here is a LINK and their location. HERE and here: Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund 317 Old Bedford Road, LUTON, LU2 7BL England.
 


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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