| Galactic Biography: Peter Cushing | |
|
 Galactic Biography is a weekly article focusing on one of the many people who have contributed to the world of Star Wars. This week features the English actor Peter Cushing.
Peter who? Peter Cushing was born on May 26, 1913 in Canterbury, England. He soon began work as a movie actor, starting through small productions and moving on to leading roles. In the late 1950 movies The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula, he played the roles of Victor Frankenstein and Abraham Van Helsing, his most famous roles. Actor Christopher Lee, a close friend of his, was often cast alongside him in many of his movies.
But how does he relate to Star Wars? In 1976, Peter Cushing was picked for the role of Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope. His character was the commander of the Death Star battle station and played as cold, ambitious, and over-confident. In the movie, he is responsible for the destruction of Alderaan and the attack on Yavin IV. Tarkin is also one of the few Imperial officers that are able to talk back to Vader and live to tell about it.
What else did he do? After Star Wars, Peter Cushing would appear in a few more movies through the late 70’s and 80’s. He retired from acting in Whitstable, England due to failing health. On August 11, 1994, he died of prostate cancer in his birth town of Canterbury. How about some trivia? During the filming of A New Hope, his Imperial officer boots he was given were poorly-fitted for his feet. Due to the difficulty in wearing them, he was given permission to wear slippers in all of his scenes. The camera is shot throughout the movie so that his slippers are never visible.
|
