Peter Cushing (1913-1994)

Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE (26th May 1913 - 11th August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally Vincent Price. A familiar face on both sides of the Atlantic, he also appeared as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) and as Doctor Who in two Doctor Who cinema films, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD in 1965 and 1966. He was born in Kenley, Surrey and died, aged 81, in Canterbury, Kent. In 1971, Cushing withdrew from the film Blood from the Mummy's Tomb when his wife died, aged 65. He and actress Helen Beck (8th February 1905 - 14th January 1971) had been married since 1943.