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               AT THE HORROR SHOW





   
to our INNER SANCTUM of scary films.  Here we will include articles, reviews, interviews, commentary, and photos devoted to the realm of horror films of the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's.
Included on this page is an interview with the secretary of the Peter Cushing Association, an article about Christopher Lee by Thomas "Dracula Man" Schellenberger, and an interview with Dr. Blood of Dr. Blood's Video Vault (online).
In upcoming weeks watch for our articles about Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, the British Hammer films, Universal horror films of the 1930s and 40s, horror films made in other countries outside the U.S., Forrest J. Ackerman (founder of Famous Monsters & more), etc.
Submissions are welcome anytime.  Email for guidelines or to send submissions to:  zinester@zworg.com  or
zinester@ghostmail.net

NOTE:  Please note that the graphics and photos included are copyright free clipart or from website hosts who allow use of their work for anyone's website--a list of links to these clipart (plus photo) sites are available on our links page.

                                                 




From the (Winter '99 & 2000) issues of REALM OF THE VAMPIRE and NIGHTSHADE:


INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN HOLLAND,

SECRETARY of the PETER CUSHING ASSOCIATION

conducted by Lucinda MacGregor & Rose Dalton

Q)  When was the Peter Cushing Association founded and what are its goals?

The Peter Cushing Association was founded in September 1996 by myself and really came about as a result of the publication of The Cushing Courier magazine, which I had started back in June 1995. At the time that I started the magazine I had no thoughts about establishing a "fan club" or such for Peter--I just wanted to publish something in celebration of a great actor and gentleman who had given so many folk such enjoyment over the years--but many fans and admirers of the great man, both in the U.K. and abroad, approached me asking if this would be possible. The feeling seemed to be that it would be nice to have something "official" once again in memory of Mr. Cushing, and so in view of this I discussed the matter with Joyce, Cushing's secretary. There was no way that I was going to consider this unless she thought it appropriate. However, Joyce had no objections to this and also very generously agreed to be Honorary President, and so the Association was established from there.

The aim of the Association is very simple really--a celebration of the life and career of Peter Cushing, where like-minded fans and admirers can get together on an informal basis in the spirit of friendship and support, which were so much a part of the man himself. Obviously not everyone will want to join the Association as such, which is understandable, and the magazine is available to nonmembers, too.

Q)  How did you become involved with the Association?

I suppose that because I had been publishing the magazine, it was a logical step to go on and set up the Association, too.  It was very much a "one-man show" in those days, with me doing just about everything.  What I would like to point out is that right from the start we have never had any financial backing from anyone at anytime and have managed entirely on the support of fans through sales of the magazine--along with help at times from my credit card!  Fortunately these days the sales of The Cushing Courier are sufficient to cover our costs--with any small profit being donated to The Pilgrims Hospice in Kent, England.

Q)  What functions have the Association hosted?  (Such as meetings, parties, banquets, auctions, etc.)

So far the Association has not hosted any conventions, meetings or such, although many of our friends in the States got together at the recent Monster Rally in August this year and prior to that there was the Bray Studios Gala in June over here in the U.K.  At the moment we are trying to arrange our first get-together in May 2000, as it is something that many friends have suggested, and the only reason its not happened before now has been due to the cost of organizing such an event.  It's still in the planning stage at the moment, but I do hope that we can get this finalized.

Q)  We understand that the auction held after Mr. Cushing's passing was quite successful. Will you please tell us about it?

Following Mr. Cushing's death there were two auctions of some of his personal items in London and another held in Canterbury, quite near to where he lived.  The reason for the first two was that Joyce and her family had to find somewhere in the region of £65,000 to pay death duties following Peter's death which is unfortunately a common occurrence in this country, due to our tax laws!

The London Auctions were held in July 1996 and attracted buyers from all over the world and some of Mr. Cushing's water-colour paintings, his collection of cigarette- cards, his model theatres, books and similar were all sold for high prices, with many items going abroad.  There were over 100 items in total, but I think it's true to say that prices were generally much too high for ordinary fans such as ourselves to be able to afford in the main.

However, the Canterbury Auction was different again and this was an opportunity for ordinary fans to be able to purchase items belonging to Mr. Cushing, and I know that Joyce wanted this.  This was held on July 30th, 1996, and there were 155 items available, such as some of his paintings, books, ties, gloves, jackets, writing desk and similar items. It was a great success with virtually everyone who attended being able to acquire at least something that had once belonged to the great man himself.

Q)  How does one acquire membership in the Association?

Membership of the Association is available to any fans or admirers of Mr. Cushing and is a one-time payment of £7 ($20 U.S. dollars--Cash Only from the States Please), which does not have to be renewed.  Members receive badges, membership card and a complimentary copy of the magazine.

At the moment we are hoping to put together some merchandise such as T-shirts and similar items.

Our postal address is:

TRELAWNEY HOUSE
WARBSTOW CROSS
WARBSTOW
LAUNCESTON
CORNWALL PL15 8UP
ENGLAND

Or, you can email for details on: cushing@bjholl.globalnet.co.uk

Q)  What can you tell us about the Association's publication, The Cushing Courier?

The Cushing Courier magazine was started in June 1995 and is now in its 10th issue.  It can be ordered direct from the address given previously and costs $23 U.S. dollars, inclusive of airmail and packaging.  At the moment it is running to about 72 pages per issue, and includes tributes to Mr. Cushing from many of his fellow professionals such as Veronica Carlson, Sir Peter Ustinov, etc., along with film and book reviews, analysis of aspects of Peter's life and career, festival reports, art work, readers' favorites, poems, and letters along with items for sale and such. Basically everything and anything associated with Mr. Cushing is covered.

This latest issue contains an article by Joyce on her 35 years working for Peter as his secretary, but perhaps the most important point of all is that our pages are available for all fans to contribute whatever they might wish, so long as it is not offensive.

The other thing that I'd just like to add is that since the very first issue we have donated any small profit from the sale of the magazine, after our expenses in actually producing this, to The Pilgrims Hospice in Kent, England.  This is a cancer care hospice that looks after the terminally ill and they actually cared for Mr. Cushing during the final months or so.

Peter asked in his will that any donations that folk wanted to send be sent to the Hospice and so we have done the same.  So long as we can cover our expenses in actually producing the magazine, then we are not here to be making money for ourselves and any profit has been donated in this way.  The receipt from the Hospice for the donation is printed in each issue, so fans can see exactly what has been sent.  It's never a fantastic amount, but I suppose every little helps, and I like to think that Mr. Cushing would approve of this.

Q)  What can you tell us about Mr. Cushing's early background as well as how he became involved in theatre and film?

There is a lot of information regarding Mr. Cushing's early background and struggles to get into the theatre in his autobiography, which as you know has just been republished.

As Peter, himself, described, at school he was only really interested in athletics, rugby, art classes and, of course, school plays.  With the help of his physics teacher, who was also interested in the theatre, the young Cushing eventually found his way into the school plays and his very first appearance was in 1929 as Sir Anthony Absolute in "The Rivals," with other parts to follow, until he left school in 1933, age 19.

Initially working in the Surveyors Department of the local town council, Peter knew that the theatre was where he really wanted to work and he used to go along to see performances in London whenever he could afford them.  He appeared in some local amateur productions at the church hall and would regularly write to the various theatre companies up and down the country asking for work--all of which were either ignored or returned saying no thanks!

He decided then that it would be best to try and enroll in a drama school and eventually was accepted at the Guildhall School of Drama and Music, where he learnt the basics of the theatre.

By 1935, he decided that it was time to try and get some work with one of the many theatre repertory companies that were about at the time and wrote to one in particular--the Connaught Theatre in Worthing--every three weeks for six months! Eventually he received a reply asking him to call to the theatre, which he assumed meant that they were going to give him a job.  In view of this he gave up his job at the Council offices and went along to the theatre--only to be told that they had asked him to call in just to ask him personally to stop writing to them!  Terribly upset by this, the young Cushing was taken pity on by the theatre director, who gave him a very small part in that evening's performance.  Thus on Saturday June 6th, 1936, Peter made his professional debut at The Connaught Theatre, Worthing, in "Cornelius" by J. B. Priestly.

There were many more struggles to follow, of course, a period spent in America where he appeared alongside Laurel & Hardy, Deborah Kerr and others, and then on his return to the U.K. more theatre work, followed by a breakthrough into British television in the 1950's.  It was his television work in Britain that led to him being offered the role by Hammer Films in their remake of Frankenstein--and the rest, as they say, is history!

Q)  What about Mr. Cushing's important theatre and film roles?  And, what were some of his favorite stage and film roles?

Mr. Cushing never had the opportunity to appear in what he considered his favorite play, which was "Journey's End" by R. C. Sherriff, but when asked about his theatre and film work always replied that he had enjoyed them all.  He appeared alongside the likes of Laurence Olivier in both the stage and film version of "Hamlet," was a regular member of The Old Vic Theatre Company, going on tour to Australia with them in 1948 and appearing in the Festival of Britain celebration in 1951.  As well as his role in "Hamlet," he also appeared in "Richard III," "The Skin of our Teeth," "War and Peace" and many other classics.

The theatre was very much his first love and at the time his aspirations were confined to this--television was a thing of the future and film work a distant dream.  However, once he had made the breakthrough into British television in 1951 he became a "regular" and was really this country's first "tv star" as such, appearing in dozens of plays for the BBC during the 1950's.

This led onto the film work with Hammer in such classics as "Horror of Dracula" and "The Mummy," along with many others.  Peter always said that he enjoyed all these films and he made many of these characters his own, giving a definitive performance in the role.  As Van Helsing, the fearless vampire hunter, he played the character in his own way, as distinct from the description contained in the book, and really brought this to life. The same is true of all his screen performances--be it as the heroic Van Helsing, the obsessed Baron Frankenstein, the meticulous Holmes or any other of his characters.

And perhaps this is the secret to his acting success--how he was able to switch back and forth between heroes and villains so effectively.  He played both of them, hero and villain, as complete persons.  His heroes were not untarnished and his villains weren't completely despicable. Peter gives us the whole person in his characterizations, and we can identify with that wholeness.  His heroes are not wooden but exciting, and his villains are not shallow but complicated.  In short, he always gave whatever character he was playing a depth, which makes them unforgettable.  In 1973, Peter said of his work:  "I don't mind at all that people may refer to me as a ‘horror actor' because, in this unpredictable profession, for an actor to be associated with a form of success like Hammer Films I think is absolutely wonderful.  In short, I love it . . . "

Q)  What can you tell us about Cushing became involved with the role of Van Helsing? Also, did he enjoy it or not?  (And, any other interesting tidbits of information about the role that you might care to include.)

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Peter Cushing's film career was the way he could switch back and forth between hero and villain so often, and so easily.  Without doubt the two characters that illustrate this most are his portrayals of Dr. Van Helsing and Baron Frankenstein, both of which he made his own.

Although Peter was first given a glimpse of international stardom with his appearance in "The Curse of Frankenstein," there is no doubt at all that his continuing role as Van Helsing in the "Dracula" films were the ones that really had cinema audiences on the edge of their seats!

During the first twenty minutes or so of "Horror of Dracula" (1957), Christopher Lee terrifies the audience with his violent and shocking portrayal of the Count, it's that scary a performance.  But it was the casting of Peter as Van Helsing that proved to be the most inspiring of all, because here was a performer who could be even more aggressive and dynamic than his adversary!  It is interesting to note that the very first time that the two actually get to confront each other, in the Homewood cellar, it is Dracula who retreats!

Thanks to Mr. Cushing's performance, there is an edge to the character which transformed Van Helsing into a hero for fantasy fans that lasted for generations, even to the present day.  And as for the conclusion of the film--which is probably one of the most memorable in horror film history--this sequence was suggested by Peter himself and more than adequately illustrates his athleticism as he dashes across the table, leaps at the curtains to let in the sunlight, grabs the candlesticks and forces Dracula back into the sunlight.

Peter had this so say about the scene:

"In the original script Van Helsing was sort of like a salesman of crucifixes--he was pulling them out of every pocket!  At the end of the film he pulled out another one …. I suggested the run along the refectory table to jump into the curtains and hit Dracula square in the face with the sunlight.  Then I could come along like the hero, grab the two candlesticks and make the cross with them in his face.  I think it was quite an effective ending to that picture."

Indeed it was, and remember that in many of the other action scenes in the film, where Van Helsing is charging around the house and castle in pursuit of the Count, that there were no stunt men here--it's Peter Cushing doing the leaping and jumping!  There were a number of sequences where the film's director, Terence Fisher, was concerned that his star shouldn't perform such potentially dangerous stunts.  But to his credit, Peter would have none of it and continued all the same--just two examples being when he leaps the bannister rail in Homewood's house after learning of the coffin in the cellar, and the coach scenes where he is pursuing Dracula back to the castle.

Three years later and Peter was back in his role of Van Helsing in "Brides of Dracula" (1960), this time with David Peel as the Count.  Generally accepted as another superb film from Hammer, and indeed a firm favorite amongst many of Peter's fans, there are many outstanding scenes throughout.  The locks falling from the coffin in the stable and the vampire, Gina, pushing her way out of the earth on her rise from the dead--in a scene which subsequently influenced everyone from George Romero's "Dead" films to Michael Jackson's "Thriller"!

But perhaps the most famous of all was the scene in the windmill where the Count actually bites Van Helsing!  The Dr. then uses a red-hot poker to burn the bite from his neck, splashing it with Holy Water, completely healing himself of the vampire's disease.

Although some folk were upset that Christopher Lee was not back as the Count, David Peel did an excellent job in a performance which contained just the right amount of evil and menace, whilst at the same time retaining the outer persona of a charming aristocrat!  It's a pity that he decided to retire from the movie business after this film, and actually died in 1982 at the age of 62.  All in all this was a really classic film!

It was 12 years later before Mr. Cushing was back in the role alongside his good friend Christopher Lee in "Dracula A.D. 72" and this appears to be one of those films that fans either love or loathe.  Personally, I`ve always enjoyed the film and I think that it has a good plot and it is always a joy to see Peter and Chris on film together, which continued with the 1972 production, "The Satanic Rites of Dracula." Mr.Cushing's last performance in the role was in "The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" made in 1973 and set in China.  This last Dracula film from Hammer featured John Forbes- Robertson in the title role, who was no Christopher Lee, but nonetheless did an admirable job in the role.

Although there are many opinions regarding these series of films, from the positive reactions to the first couple to the dismay at some of the latter productions, there is one thing that remains constant throughout, and that is Peter Cushing's performance. Whatever feelings you might have toward the films overall--and in my humble opinion most of them were classics--there is no doubting the research and commitment that Peter put into the role, as he did with all his characters.  And this in turn made them all the more believable.

Q)  We viewed some of Mr. Cushing's paintings on the Association's website.  He was obviously an extremely gifted artist.  What inspired his paintings?  And, we also understand that he was a model-maker.  What can you tell us about it?

Mr. Cushing had cherished a love of nature itself and all aspects of the natural world since his boyhood days, and this stayed with him throughout his life.  He was a great admirer of the artist Edward Seago, who was also his friend and mentor, and as well as being an accomplished artist had a love of model-making, animals (particularly birds), toy soldiers and collecting stamps, books and cigarette-cards.

This talent for painting and model-making just developed from his boyhood days and although Peter was never convinced that his paintings were particularly good, everyone else thought otherwise!  His inspiration was nature itself and the changing seasons.  He was quite a prolific artist and would spend many hours at this each week when he was able, coupled with his model-making and other collections.  His model theaters were just exquisite in every detail--everything to the correct scale with fully working lights and scenery and following his death, some of these were sold for many tens of thousands of pounds.  I gather that a couple of these are now part of a large collection in Germany.

Likewise, his paintings are now recognized as being of the highest standard and the few that were made available at the auctions went for very high prices indeed.  As you can see, he was a man of many talents--far more complex than just the "horror star" as he is sometimes referred as.

Q)  Some of the photographs of Mr. Cushing's hometown of Whitstable in Kent are lovely. We understand that he loved the place and the people.  What can you tell us about his life there?

For many years both Peter and his wife lived in London, as it was convenient for his film work and all those necessary contacts required in the profession.  However, his wife, Helen, had not been in very good health for some years and by the late 1960's it was necessary for her to try and spend as much time as she could by the seaside in order that the clear air could help the emphysema that she had developed.  They spent some time looking for a place by the coast and eventually found a quaint cottage in the seaside town of Whitstable, Kent.

Both Peter and Helen loved the place and the people, who accepted them as just another friendly couple living in the town, and it was an idyllic home for them both.  Although it was necessary for Mr. Cushing to be away filming for short periods, he always insisted on returning to Whitstable whenever he could and the sea air was very beneficial for his wife.  It was also an ideal place for his painting, and he spent many hours recording scenes in the local harbor and surrounding area.

When Helen died in 1971, she was buried at the local church at Seasalter and Peter continued to live at their cottage in the town.  Indeed, Mr. Cushing always referred to the place being more like a village, because it had the quiet, serene atmosphere that one usually associates with such places.  The people of the town were extremely friendly and even protective toward their famous neighbor, but always treated him just the same as everyone else, and for this he was always grateful.

Peter had many favorite spots within the town, his favorite place being an area near the sea wall which was later named as "Cushing's View" in his honor.  Peter donated the garden seat used by himself and Helen in their garden to the spot, when it was named in 1990, and this is now a permanent fixture at the site, for others to enjoy.  Other favorite places were The Tudor Tea Rooms Restaurant where Mr.Cushing would have his lunch each day at 12:00 noon, Pirie and Cavender Bookshop in the high street and the Whitstable Museum.  The town and its people took Peter and Helen to their hearts and it was always a love and respect that was mutual.  For anyone who has ever had the good fortune to visit Whitstable, then it is a lovely place and it is quite easy to see the attraction that it held for Peter and his wife.  Although his cottage home is now sold, the house is still there of course.

Q)  What is the "Cushing Corner" at the Whitstable Museum?

Within the Museum at Whitstable there is a separate area set aside which is now known as the "Cushing Corner," and here on display are various items of furniture and some personal belongings of Peter's from his home in the town.  These are on permanent display.

The reason how this came about was that in July 1995 the Museum featured an exhibition on the life and work of Mr. Cushing, entitled "Peter Cushing--A Celebration." This ran from July 22nd to September 16th, 1995 and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Opening of this on the evening of July 21st, which included many of Peter's professional colleagues and friends.

It really was a superb event and collected together for probably the first and last time were most of Peter's water-colour paintings, film posters, model theaters, his collection of model soldiers, film awards, film props, personal items such as one of his lab coats from the Frankenstein films, items that he had made for Helen such as bracelets, earrings and silk scarves, plus an array of many other items.  It was a dazzling spectacular and needless to say attracted tens of thousands of visitors not only from this country but from the USA, Canada, Italy, Greece and even Japan.  There was plenty of coverage of this on the media and can I just mention that although there was no "official" film made of the event, the Association does hold some film of this, which we are more than happy to share with any fans who might be interested.

After the Exhibition was over, the Museum decided to create a permanent area devoted to Peter Cushing, his life and career, and this has continued to the present date.  Should any readers ever be in the U.K. on vacation, then do take the time to visit Whitstable and the surrounding area, as it is a fascinating place, and well worth a look.

Q)  How did Mr. Cushing become involved with the founding of the Chatham Theatre Royal? And what funds were raised to support the Theatre by the sales at the auction held after Mr. Cushing passed away?

Because of his love for the theatre in general, Peter was always concerned that wherever possible it received the support that it deserved.  It was in the theatre that he and many other stars had "learnt their trade" so to speak, and in the middle 1980's a campaign was launched to try and renovate and restore to its former glory, The Chatham Theatre Royal, in Kent, England.

This is quite an outstanding theatre, both in its history and architecture, but over the years like so many others, had fallen into disrepair and had long since been closed. Indeed, it had almost become forgotten altogether, but when plans were announced to develop the site into a shopping arcade or something similar, a few folk started a campaign not only to try and stop this, but to renovate the Theatre to its former glory.

Mr. Cushing heard about this and from the start lent his enthusiastic support.  He donated his trusty bicycle to raise funds for the campaign, became a Founder Patron of this, and tried to help in any way that he could in the few years that he was involved up to his death in August 1994.  "Help us to reawaken this Sleeping Beauty!" was how he described the campaign on one occasion.

Following his death on August 11th, 1994, his Secretary Joyce has continued to support the campaign in many ways, not least by donating many personal items such as some of Peter's ties, gloves, jackets and similar to auctions to raise funds for this.  These Auctions have likewise been supported by a vast number of other British and international stars of both theatre, film, television, sport and politics for that matter and have raised thousands of pounds.  Needless to say that the Association also actively supports the campaign, which has now managed to stop the redevelopment of the site and is now trying to refurbish and reopen the Theatre again.  For full details on this, the Theatre has its own website at: http://www.theatreroyal.clara.net

Q)  We understand that Mr. Cushing's two autobiographies have recently been released in one volume, can you give us the details?

That's right! It is tremendous news to see that Mr. Cushing's two volumes of Autobiography have now been reprinted into a single combined volume, as these have been out of print for far too long.  I know that I'm naturally biased, but they really are superb and give an insight into both the man himself and of course all his classic films.

The new combined volume also includes more than 150 photographs and stills, many of which have come from Joyce's own collection and have never been seen before.

The book is entitled Peter Cushing--An Autobiography and Past Forgetting and is available in the USA from: Midnight Marquee Press, 9721 Britinay Lane, Baltimore, MD 21234. Price $23.

(http://www.midmar.com)

For fans in the U.K. or Europe then they can order it from: Pirie & Cavender Booksellers, High Street, Whitstable, Kent, England. Tel: 01227 – 273491. Price £15.

Q)  We noticed it is mentioned on the Association's website that Mr. Cushing received the Award of the O.B.E. We don't have anything like it in America.  Will you please explain?

The O.B.E. is an Award bestowed upon certain individuals by the Queen, for any achievement that is considered noteworthy.  It is given to actors and actresses, sportsmen and really anyone whom the Queen feels has achieved something exceptional.  Usually there are two Awards given each year to different groups of people.

In Mr. Cushing's case he was awarded this in 1989 for the pleasure and enjoyment that his work had given to people over the past 40 years.  He was thrilled to receive this, but was unable to collect this at the time as the day previous he had fallen off his bicycle whilst riding around Whitstable and broken his hip!

However, some months later he attended Buckingham Palace for the Award and made the following comment:

"I love this country of ours so very much, and its people, and I feel that by receiving this Award I have at least done something for it and for them."

Personally I feel that this sums up the humility of the man.  He was an internationally renowned star, in every sense of the word, and yet he never lost the common touch.

Q)  Mr. Cushing had a reputation for being a man of integrity and also that he had a wonderful and long relationship with his wife, Helen.  Are there any comments you would care to make?

It is well known that Peter and his wife had a long and wonderful relationship and her death was probably the very worst thing that could have happened for him.  For not only was Helen his wife, but a constant support and encouragement to him throughout his career.  Peter was extremely unsure of himself, especially in his early days (which might surprise some people) and it was only with Helen's guidance that he managed to overcome this and fulfill the potential that was there.  As an example of this, in 1967 Peter had the following to say:

"Nerves were the worst thing and they became particularly bad with television.  When I did tv it was laughingly called ‘live' and that was absolutely terrifying!  I did that for three or four years solid and that's why I'm still a nervous wreck today.  I don't think I ever got over it.  Several actors--well-known actors --gave up during that period because they couldn't take it.  They didn't have someone like Helen to help them through . . . "

Peter was also known as a man of integrity, something that is borne out constantly by the recollections of many of his professional colleagues and friends--many of whom have shared their special memories of the great man with us over the past 10 issues of our magazine.

Some of those who have contributed to our pages include: Veronica Carlson, Sir Peter Ustinov, Patrick MacNee, David McCallum, Joanna Lumley, Caroline Munro and many others.  Without fail, they have explained how Mr. Cushing always displayed humility, friendship and warmth toward everyone he met and was unfailingly kind and courteous.

As just one example, here is a quote from Barbara Shelley:

"Peter was an extraordinary person--quite unique.  He was quiet, full of humor and generous towards his fellow actors in a truly rare and warmhearted way.  Most lunch times he would disappear into his dressing room with a bottle of milk for himself and a loaf of bread for the birds, which congregated in positive flocks on the roof outside his window . . . Stimulating and fun to work with, gentle, amusing and always the perfect gentleman. Peter Cushing--a joy to work with, a privilege to know--a fund of happy memories!"

I don't think that I need say anymore, do you.

Q)  Who were some of Mr. Cushing's lifelong friends?

Peter had many friends both within and outside of the industry and from all walks of life.

Many famous names spring to mind such as Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, John Carradine, and many, many others, along with ordinary folk whom he came to know in Whitstable and elsewhere.

Naturally Christopher Lee was a great friend and companion over many years, sharing many fond moments on their work together and likewise in their private lives.  They knew each other socially as well as on the film set and would often ring each other on a regular basis to have a chat about various projects and similar.  Here are a few quotes that give a small insight into the admiration and respect they had for each other:

Peter Cushing: "I have letters saying ‘Please will you send us a photograph of yourself with Christopher Lee.'  I think they think he and I live together in a cave down at Whitstable, which is sweet.  So I have to write back and say I'll send you mine, but you'll have to write to his agent for his . . . "

Christopher Lee:  "Peter was much loved, not least by me.  I've lost a wonderful friend. I shall miss his wisdom. I shall miss him . . . "

Vincent Price:  "Peter is one of the strongest men I ever knew in my life--I had to do several fight scenes with him!  He's a very realistic and very serious minded actor and I am very, very fond of him. A real friend."

And from one of the townsfolk in Whitstable:  "Peter Cushing was a gentleman.  It didn't matter if you were the refuse collector or the Queen, he would still treat you
with the same respect and humility and he always had time to listen to you--never going on about himself, like some folk.  As I say, a gentleman--one of the last! He was an example to us all."

Q)  What did Mr. Cushing think about his fans and about his enormous popularity?

I think that one of the most positive things about Mr. Cushing (and there are many!) was the fact that he always had time for his fans, whoever they were and wherever they were from.  He was never discourteous and would always give an autograph when asked, even staying on at venues to ensure that everyone had obtained their own important signature.

How different this is to so many so-called stars of today.

Peter enjoyed his popularity and was always the first to appreciate the interest and support from the folk who in his own words "have allowed me to achieve what I have to date."  He recognized the interest that was there from fans worldwide and tried his best to "repay this in some way."  He was as much a gentleman towards his fans as he was to his professional colleagues and friends, and every letter that arrived for him he made sure that he replied to!  Now that was some task, in view of the colossal amount of mail he received, but I can assure you that it was the case.  There are many fans out there, myself included, who wrote to Peter in the vain hope that we might possibly get a reply, who were subsequently delighted some months later to receive a personally signed letter, postcard, still--or all of these!--from the man himself.

In 1975, Peter Cushing went over to America for The Famous Monsters Convention, and here is what none other than Forrest J. Ackerman had to say about Peter and his fans:

"I was alone with Peter in an elevator after fans had delayed his departure and made him late for his next appointment.  I thought--here's my chance to see the REAL Peter Cushing.

"Always so gracious in public.  Now I'll find out if he has a dark side.  I expected him to say, ‘Those damn fans keeping me here so late!'  But no.  All Peter could say was, ‘I hope my fans are not disappointed that I had to leave.'  And you know, the next day, he stayed even longer, making sure he had signed each and every autograph for each and every fan who waited in line to see him!"

There is one other detail that I would like to mention, too, which will illustrate what we have been talking about.  Toward the end, when Peter was very ill, he arranged to have a number of printed memos prepared which bore the title:  "Peter Cushing OBE.  May God's blessing be with you always.  In all sincerity.  Peter Cushing."  This was the normal way that Peter signed his letters, as you know.

Having got these printed, Mr. Cushing then signed them all personally so that when he was too ill to do so, his Secretary, Joyce, would still be able to send these out to fans who wrote in and in that way they would not be disappointed.

I think that this gesture speaks volumes about the man, that he should still be thinking about his fans in this way even when he was so ill.  Doesn't this just say it all?

Q)  We noticed that you mentioned on the Association's website something regarding Mr. Cushing's comment about "all life is sharing."  Could you please explain?

The comment that Peter made about "all life is sharing" was made when he approached the BBC programme, "Jim'll Fix It," to see if they could arrange for a rose to be named after his beloved wife, Helen.

The programme is usually for children to send in their requests for favorite things that they would like to do, but as Peter had longed to have a perfumed rose named after his wife, Helen, he wrote to the programme quite independently to see if they could possibly arrange this.

And they did!  Mr. Cushing subsequently appeared on the programme and the film of him selecting a new strain of rose to be named after his wife was broadcast.  After the film there was a chat in the studio for a few minutes between Peter and a couple of the show's presenters, and one of them mentioned that other people also would be able to enjoy this new rose, too.

To this, Peter made his reply about "all life is sharing" and continued that it was important for everyone to be able to help others in whatever way they could, and that if other people got enjoyment from this new rose, then that was so much the better.  It was a remark which once more reflected the humility and warmth of the man, where so often he would put others before himself, and is something that so many of his friends and professional colleagues have commented on.

Q)  We are impressed with the news articles that were published upon Mr. Cushing's passing.  It is nice that you included the articles on the Association's website.  Can you tell us a bit about why so many people from all over attended Mr. Cushing's funeral?

Peter had left details with Joyce that after his death he would prefer a quiet funeral, but when Joyce discussed this with the undertakers it became clear that there were countless folk not only in Whitstable and throughout the U.K., but also from abroad who wished to pay their respects in some way to the man himself.  Because of this, it was agreed that the hearse and accompanying cars would do a brief journey around Whitstable before continuing to the crematorium for a private service.

And how right they were, because on that day the town came to a standstill and the streets were packed with thousands of folk who had come to say their own goodbyes to the man who had meant so much to them.  Fans and admirers of Mr. Cushing from Whitstable and throughout the U.K., as well as from the USA, Germany, France, Spain and even Australia came along to Whitstable to say farewell.  It was an incredibly moving event as Peter took his last tour around the town he loved so much.

And why you might ask did so many folk want to attend?  For most of us had never had the good fortune to have met Peter Cushing--and yet, in a way, we felt as if somehow we did know him.  For myself, he had been the hero of my youth, someone I had grown up with in a sense, and over the years this had matured into a deep respect and admiration for a man who was not just a superb actor, but also a real gentleman.  And it is amazing how many fans say exactly the same, be they newcomers to the genre or rather longer in the tooth like myself!

Personally I think it's because in all those roles that he played, Peter always managed to include something of himself which made them living, breathing characters and not wooden.

Very difficult, if not impossible to adequately explain, but I'm sure that many folk will know what I mean.

This was summed up much better than I can by one fan who said:  "With the death of Peter Cushing, film fans lost more than one of their stars--we lost a friend and a friend of the genre.  Even more, someone like a parent, with whom we felt reassured, someone we respected many years."

Wise words indeed!

Q)  The Association's website covers a large array of information regarding Mr. Cushing's life and career.  Anything you want to add in particular about it?

The only thing that I would like to add about the website is that it is there as a celebration of the life and career of a gentleman about whom so many folk thought the world about.  It is an honor to be able to bring details about the life and career of Peter Cushing to a potentially wider audience, because there is just so much more to the man than just "the horror actor," as he is sometimes described.  I hope that any folk who take a look will find it of interest and if there is anyway that you think that we might be able to be of help concerning any aspect of Peter and his career, then please let me know.

I'd also like to thank Lucinda and her colleagues for giving me the chance to talk about Peter Cushing and the Association, and wish you all the very best for the future.  And finally I'd like to thank all our good friends in the States, and elsewhere, for all their help and support--without which, I'd have probably ended up a nervous wreck by now!

Q)  What are the future plans of the Association?

As for the future--well I definitely want to see our first convention arranged next year and beyond that to expand and develop the Association and the magazine further.  To let other fans of Mr. Cushing know that we are here, because it's surprising how many folk feel isolated in a sense, and to continue our celebration of Peter and his career.  To improve our links with other groups within the genre and just try to be of help--as well as hopefully persuading the "powers that be to finally release some of Mr. Cushing's classic performances so that fans can have the opportunity to see them at last!

There are Peter Cushing fans who are not even born yet, so I hope that I will still be writing something similar in another 15 years or so!

The Peter Cushing Association can be visited at
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~bjholl/

In closing, we would like to thank you for your time and sharing with us your memories and knowledge regarding the life and times of someone known as the "kind and courteous gentle man of horror" (The Kent Advisor).  He was a man of true integrity and that is certainly a rare breed for the times we live in.

NOTE:  Go here for photos of Peter Cushing , filmography, review of his autobiography, and list of books about him.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  The Peter Cushing Association has been disbanded and a new organization started known as the Peter Cushing Museum.  It's located on the Internet at http://PeterCushingMuseum.com/

From The Vampire Journal #1:



                              THE MARK OF CHRISTOPHER LEE


                                                    by Thomas Schellenberger

   
   
    Today, it would be inaccurate to regard Christopher Lee as one who specializes in horror films.  He has demonstrated his talent during the last several years in other assorted roles and has almost completely shed his Dracula image.  But while horror has become a part of the film star's past (?), there could never be any doubting of the mark he left in the genre.
   
    The writer of this article realized an ambition in 1977 when he met Christopher Lee (See the Thomas Schellenberger interview in the Fall 1984 issue of  The Collinsport Record, a "Dark Shadows" fanzine) at the Count Dracula Society's Mrs. Ann Radcliffe Awards Banquet in Los Angeles.  Then the actor was being honored for his achievement in international cinema, and though a number of other celebrities were present, it appeared obvious that towering Englishman was the main attraction.  One Dinner speaker compared the former Dracula's film life to a "three-stage rocket.''  The first "stage" comprised Lee's years as a struggling unknown from "Corridor of Mirrors" (Apollo Films, 1948) to his first real bit of recognition, "Curse of Frankenstein" (Hammer, 1957).
   
    This was followed by his true baptism of fire, "Horror of Dracula" (Hammer, 1958; the Briton still feels that this was his best Dracula film) and a long succession of horror and fantasy productions.
   
    Lee's third cycle was his emergence from horror into such box office hits as "The Man With The Golden Gun" (Eon, 1974), "Airport 1977" (Universal, 1977), "The Three Musketeers" (20th Century Fox, 1974), and "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (Mirisch, 1970).  They reflect the star's yearn to seek a more fulfilling career and to disassociate himself from macabre movies, which he claims have degenerated.
   
    However, his performances in the world of the fantastic could never be disregarded, as helpful as they were to his showmanship and as overwhelming as they still are to his multitude of fans.
   
    Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was delivered to the world in London on May 27, 1922  (could it have been just plain coincidence that Peter Cushing and Vincent Price were born on the same day and in the same month ?  There is more food for thought; Lee's daughter, Boris Karloff, and Karloff's daughter share the same month and day of birth--November 23).
   
    The name "Carandinill was taken from a royal family on Lee's mother's side that is said to be rooted in the days of Charlemagne.  It was that plus a blood link with the notorious Borgias of the same nationality that lent authenticity to Lee's Dracula.  One might conclude, therefore, that "Count" Lee was the most "aristocratic" of the screen's vampires.
   
    At first, it did not seem likely that drama would become the young Englishman's profession.  His earliest stints occurred during childhood in school plays, including "Julius Caesar" (portraying Cassius), "Henry V" (playing the Dauphin), and "Richard II" (personifying Mowbray).  But there was no apparent desire on Lee's part to make show business a career.
   
    During a period of uncertainty incurred by his parents' divorce, family financial woes, and a college education cut short,the youth whom one magazine writer would one day dub the "Terror of the Age" sharply pondered the course of his life.  Lee faced numerous frustrations as his Dracula would later destructions, but like the Count, he always came back for another encounter with a world that was far more bleak than any horror movie.
   
    Young Lee's first priority was his family, so he became a working man.  At one pound a week, he handled the mail and ran errands for an American shipping line.  Next was an export corporation where working conditions were improved though salary was not.
   
    World War II had finally caught up with England and Lee naturally coveted a higher income as well as a more prosperous career, so he set his sights on the Royal Air Force. "The R.A.F. is all the rage now," he once commented to his mother, "and I was lucky to get a ticket into the wild blue yonder" (Lee's autobiography, Tall, Dark and Gruesome).
   
    Indeed, a military life for the Briton seemed a natural since his father, Geoffrey Lee (who died just before his son's enlistment), was a colonel in the King's Royal Rifle Corps as his father before him.
   
    The youngest Lee's proven expertise in the R.A.F. would have made his father proud, though the future actor's fans can be thankful that the carrying on of the "tradition" would only be a wartime experience.
   
    Following arduous training, Lee finally earned the rank of Pilot Officer.  Also having worked with the Rhodesian Police, he was later transferred to Special Operations as an Intelligence Officer.  There he acquired fluency in several languages which would prove advantageous to his international acting performances.
   
    The end of one of history's bloodiest conflicts was said to have brought joy for many. But a readjustment period ensued for the men who engaged in that war, and Chris Lee was no exception.
   
    When the second World War drew to a close, Lee's military jaunt did likewise.  He found himself back in London with one obvious question on his mind:  "What do I do now?"
   
    His old job at the export corporation was again offered to him at six pounds a week, but office work would never again do for the changed Lee.  Something a little more exciting, a little more demanding, was the requirement.
   
    Fate played its hand in the form of Count Nicolo Carandini, Italy's ambassador to England and Lee's cousin.  While the two were lunching one afternoon, the Count suggested that his relative take up acting professionally.  After some careful consideration, the idea appealed to Lee.
   
    It could have been in keeping with another family tradition, as Lee's great-grandfather was also an actor and a singer.  Lee, however, was never exactly sure why he wanted to act.  "I suppose it was just an urge to create people that weren't me," he confessed (The House of Hammer, page 16), adding that he felt it was a job he could do best.
   
    Not everyone was in agreement with his newest ambition.  The war veteran's mother was said to be "violently opposed to the whole mad ideal" (Tall, Dark and Gruesome), asserting that such a business was only for those without morals.
   
    Lee did not concur and persisted in his attempts to reach the big screen.  A few years later, though, when his career was in a lull, the cinematic vampire-to-be went to work as a floorwalker in a department store.  It perhaps made his mother a little happier at the time.
   
    Count Carandini had arranged for his cousin to meet Del Guidice of Two Cities Films.  Lee almost hit another stone wall when he was informed by a producer that his height (6 ft. 5 ins.) would deter any chances of his becoming a successful actor.  Being a "rookie," he was not well-known enough to land a leading role, and he would have been considered too tall for bit parts.
   
    Lee's stature, which he jokes about to this day (when he addressed the 1977 Dracula Society banquet, he had to lift the microfilm from the stand, commenting that it was not for "abnormally normal-sized people"), would certainly never do for minor appearances.  As it would have to be quite sometime before he could command a lead, luck and determination were going to be sorely needed.
   
    After being granted a seven-year stock contract with Two Cities Films, Lee's first part, the beginning of a long line of bits, was that of a man sitting (the director's solution to the height problem) at a table in "Corridor of Mirrors" (Apollo Films, 1948). His footage was no longer than a minute and he had one line.
   
    Cameos, minor roles, cut footage, and stunt work were all that composed the actor's chosen path for the next several years.  While he did have some noted parts in "Penny and The Pownall Case" (Highbury, 1948--Lee's first appearance as a villain), "Alias John Preston" (Danziger/ Associated Artists, 1956), and "Beyond Mombasa" (Hemisphere/Todon, 1957), the name of Christopher Lee was far from being one associated with filmdom.
   
    There were also some grueling times for young Lee during the "obscure" days in show business.  He had the misfortune (some might have actually considered it an honor) of being wounded twice by well-known movie stars.
   
    While making "Captain Horatio Hornblower RN" (Warner Brothers/First National, 1951), Lee had his arm severely cut by Gregory Peck during a sword fight. Lee said that Peck still remembers the unfortunate episode.
   
    A few years later, it was swashbuckling Errol Flynn, who had lacerated Lee's right finger while dueling with him in "The Dark Avenger" (Allied Artists, 1955).  The Briton was aware, of course, that it was an accident, but he had to repeatedly assure Flynn that he was forgiven.
   
    The state of gloom that permeated Lee's future as an actor was not to last much longer, for he was about to enter into a genre that many performers deem both unattractive and damaging to one's career
   
    "Curse of Frankenstein" Hammer, 1957) was, in Lee's words, the film that "started it all" (The Films of Christopher Lee). The actor's height, previously considered a stumbling block, now worked to his advantage as he was awarded the role of Mary Shelley's classic monster, now referred to as a "creature."  After a single interview and no screen test, Lee's destiny in horror films had begun.
   
    The picture was the Englishman's thirty-sixth, and it launched a new horror "team" known as Lee and Cushing, a pair that promised to achieve the greatness of Karloff and Lugosi.  It was the first time that Lee and Peter Cushing (who played Baron Frankenstein) had performed together since "Hamlet" (Two Cities/Pilgrim, 1948; Lee played a palace guard and Cushing was Osric).
   
    It was also a reunion with the film's director, Terence Fisher, who had directed a previous picture of Lee's, "Song For Tomorrow" (Highbury/Ivory/Production Facilities, 1948).
   
    As tremendous a hit as the full-color remake of Karloff's famous film was, "Horror of Dracula" (Hammer, 1958; also directed by Fisher and also starring Cushing as vampire fighter Van Helsing) was even better.  This may well have actually been the film that started it all, for Lee (now as Dracula) was shown in all of his glory without the concealing make-up of his Frankenstein creature.
   
    Unlike Bela Lugosi, Lee's Dracula was quiet, vicious, and almost totally without compassion.  At the time, Lee had not yet seen the 1931 Universal version, so there was no impetus to copy the Hungarian-born Lugosi's hammy style.  The Briton's commanding height, deep, resonant voice, and ferocity compelled many to believe that he had far surpassed Universal's first Dracula in fearsomeness.   Lee claimed that he tried to bring an element of sadness or loneliness to the Dracula role, which was to become his most renowned.  He even defended the character, not as a hero, but as an anti-hero.
   
    "However terrible the actions of Count Dracula might be," he asserted, "he was possessed by an occult power which was completely beyond his control.  It was the Devil, holding him in his power, who drove him to commit those horrible crimes, for he had taken possession of his body from time immemorial. Yet his soul, surviving inside its carnal wrapping, was immortal and could not be destroyed by any means.  All this is to explain the great sadness which I have tried to put into my interpretation" (The Dracula Scrapbook, "Dracula and I," pages 96-97).
   
    Fan clubs abounded for Lee as a result of his "horrific" shows.  He was enjoying a new-found popularity that gave way to a long line of Dracula sequels and enactments of other sinister roles in such pictures as "Corridors of Blood" (Amalgamated, 1962), "Terror of -The Tongs" (Hammer, 1960), "The Hands of Orlac" (Continental, 1962), "Rasputin, The Mad Monk" (Hammer/Seven Arts, 1965), "Horror Hotel" (Vulcan/ Amicus, 1960), and many, many others (Lee considered a lot of them fantasy film, not horror).
   
    And what of the Lee-Cushing combination, the likes of which has not yet been repeated in horror today ?  The duo continued to grapple (and at times, unite) in "The Mummy" (Hammer, 1959), "The Gorgon" (Hammer, 1964), "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" (Amicus, 1964), "She" (Hammer/ MGM, 1964), "The Skull" (Amicus, 1965), "Island of The Burning Doomed" (Planet, 1967), "Horror Express" (Scotia International/ Barber,1972), "Dracula A.D. 1972" (Hammer, 1972), "The Creeping Flesh" (World Film Service, 1972), and "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (Hammer/ Dynamite Entertainment, 1974).
   
    Lee's association with horror had also reunited him with Boris Karloff, who inspired the Englishman in his earlier years as an actor.  They first met during the early fifties at Southhall Studios when Lee appeared in "Colonel March of Scotland Yard," a television series of Karloff's.  The two worked together again in "Corridors of Blood" (Amalgamated, 1962), which firmly established their friendship.
   
    Both of the "Frankenstein monsters" became neighbors in London Square.  Besides Conrad Veidt according to Lee, Karloff was another great force in his life, a man he truly admired.
   
    They appeared together for the final time in Karloff's last motion picture, "The Crimson Cult" (Tigon/American International, 1968).
  
    Lee's stroke of good fortune was to extend to more than just his movie career.  It was said that he had received numerous marriage proposals in the mail after his first "Dracula," but his true heart-throb appeared in the form of a Danish model and painter named Birgit Kroenecke (known to her friends as Gitte).  The two were introduced by close friends who felt that they were just right for each other.
   
    The actor soon agreed and married the lovely redhead in 1961 (the first time for either of them).  In his autobiography, Lee commented that folks in show business would term it a "miraculous marriage," as it has lasted to this day.
   
    Two years later, the "Prince of Terror"' and his wife became the proud parents of a baby girl.  She was named Christina.
   
    While caring for his family, Lee starred in films throughout the world.  He continued to usually play the villain, but occasionally found himself on the right side of the law, as in a German flick, "The Devil's Daffodil" (Ounia/Rialto, 1961) in which he portrayed a Chinese detective.
   
    Most of Lee's pictures called for him to die.  Once, when the Briton was signed to do a new film, daughter, Christina asked him how he would be "killed" in this one.
   
    This writer, in fact hardly ever expected to see the character played by Lee make it to the final reel in any picture alive (it beginning to like it was a rule in the actor's contract). When Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville was saved in "Hound of The Baskervilles" (Hammer, 1959), the writer felt like standing up and applauding!
   
    Whether Chris Lee's personifications were targeted to survive or not, his performances in features and on television programs became more and in demand in many parts of the globe.  A career that was almost thwarted was now blossoming more than ever, though Lee's name was mainly recognized by horror buffs.
  
    The acclaim won by Lee still had not earned him top-billing in any motion picture until "Devil-Ship Pirates" (Hammer, 1964), in which he played -a Spanish privateer.  But a better piece of cake was to come from a character who was a personal favorite of Lee's, Sax Rohmer's unabatable Fu Manchu.
  
    Though Dracula was regarded as his most significant role, "The Face of Fu Manchu" (Hallam/Anglo-Amalgamated, 1965) lifted the Londoner to new heights of popularity, "Terror of The Tongs," produced by Hammer in 1960, featured Lee as a Fu Manchu- like character named Chung King).  Also known as "Chop-Suey Bond" it gave way to a rash of sequels, all of which Lee felt were below par.
   
    The original should have been the last,"' he said. (The Films of Lee)   Rohmer's widow was on the set of the film in Ireland. She informed Lee that her husband's famous creation was inspired by a tall Oriental he once had seen getting out of a car. Mrs. Rohmer then made another interesting comment; Lee looked exactly like him!
   
    The new production on the Oriental criminal mastermind caught on with the public. New Yorkers had even launched a write-in campaign to make Fu Manchu the new mayor, and he was reported to have received some votes.
   
    As mentioned, there were sequels to Lee's most successful film to date including "The Brides of Fu Manchu" (Hallam/Anglo-Amalgamated* 1966), "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" (Anglo- Amalgamated/Hallam/Babasdave/Terra-Filmkunst, 1967), "Castle of Fu Manchu" (Maron/ Commonwealth/Italian International/Terra, 1970), and "Blood of Fu Manchu" (Udastex/ Commonwealth/Ada/Terra/Towers of London/Hallam, 1969). None of them, as far as Lee was concerned, measured up to the first.
   
    While there were previous Fu Manchus, such as Boris Karloff, Warner Oland, and Henry Brandon, Christopher Lee remains the definitive celluloid version of Nayland Smith's arch-enemy in the minds of many.  Fu Manchu became a continuing filmed "alter ego" for which Lee is solely known (his Dracula is still often challenged by Lugosi fans, as well as faithful followers of Jack Palance and Frank Langella).
    
    In the midst of all of this, what ever did become of Dracula?  As stated, earlier, there were follow-ups, and as with the Fu Manchus, Lee was less than satisfied with any of them.
 
    The plots of succeeding Dracula films usually focused on the supporting characters, with Count Dracula having to be worked into the script (this was especially true in "Legend of The Seven Golden Vampires," a 1974 Hammer release not featuring Lee, where Dracula could have been omitted altogether with no alteration in the story).  It disgusted Lee, for he felt that Hammer's writers had strayed too far from the original concept set forth in the 1958 effort.
 
    The Hammer sequels (with Lee) were as follows:  "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" (1965; again, Terence Fisher was the director, as he had handled several other of Lee's pictures), "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave" (1968; this time it was Freddie Francis, another "Veteran" director of Lee's films), "Taste The Blood of Dracula," (1970), "Scars of Dracula" (1970), "Dracula A.D. 1972" (1972), and "Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1974).  Lee also essayed the role of the Count in "Count Dracula" (Fenix- Filmar/ Cinematografica-Korona/Towers of London-C.C./Tigon, 1970), a Spanish film that adheres closely to Bram Stoker's novel, but suffered in quality (not even Lee's performance could save it; it was interesting, though, to see Lee made up as Dracula in accordance with Stoker's description and transforming into a bat, a feat denied him by Hammer).
   
    "Satanic Rites of Dracula" (released in the U.S. as "Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride") was the final straw for the Englishman.  Set in London in 1973 (a direct sequel to "Dracula A.D. 1972"), Dracula's new headquarters was a modern office building, where the vampire is masquerading as a businessman.  Lee referred to it as "pointless, absurd, and fatuous."
 
    Lee had announced that he was playing the part simply because his fans demanded it of him and he did not want to disappoint them.  However, he felt that "Dracula A.D. 1972" and "Satanic Rites" constituted the lowest level the character could ever sink to yet, and he was certain that most people agreed.  The return of Peter Cushing in the role of Van Helsing seemed like a possible attempt to add mote flavor to the films, but it did not appear to make much difference.
 
    Dracula, according to Lee, was now being treated by Hammer as "a mixture of Howard Hughes and Dr. No."  This remark was ironic, for another of Lee's cousins was Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books.  He once informed Lee that he would make a fine Bond villain, and the Briton did later play the pernicious Scaramonga in "The Man With The Golden Gun" (Eon, 1974).
 
    The actor proclaimed that he would never play Dracula again unless the scripts were improved or a close adaptation of Stoker's novel was presented.
 
    The man who played Dracula more times than any other in feature films was obviously a stickler for Stoker.  He was always seen on the Hammer Dracula sets clutching a copy of the 1897 novel. It was his idea to include a line of original dialogue from the book in "Dracula A.D. 1972" and while he felt that "Horror of Dracula" was the best, he still felt that more scenes should have been borrowed from Stoker's work.
 
    Thus, after being disintegrated by sunlight drowned in running water, impaled on a huge cross, overcome by spiritual forces, struck by lightning, cremated, staked, and pricked by a hawthorn bush, ''Draculee" was finally laid to rest.
   
    Or was he? Lee did don the familiar black cloak again in "Dracula and Son" (Gaumont International/Production 2000, 1975), but he insisted that this French vampire spoof was not even a Dracula movie (Lee had satirized his Dracula film before in "Uncle Was a Vampire" an Italian 1959 farce produced by Steno/ Maxima-Cie.).  And an announcement was once made that the Englishman would play Dracula's father in "Love at Second Bite," the planned sequel to George Hamilton's 1979 comedy.
 
    But since these are comedies, Lee may not feel that they count, even if the featured vampire is the actual Transylvanian Terror.
   
    Lee never did resent being termed a "horror actor" in previous years, though even then he felt it was a misnomer.  He persisted that he really had not made that many "horror" movies, but rather that they were "fantasy.
   
    As with many others in his profession., the actor sought to branch himself out into other, more diversified roles.  Unlike Karloff, who saw nothing wrong with being "typed," since it usually meant a steady flow of work, he has striven to make his fans realize that there is much more he can do in the cinema.
   
    It appears to be ringing true, judging by his immense success with films as "The Man With The Golden Gun" and "The Three Musketeers" (and its follow up, "The Four Musketeers," both by 20th Century Fox, 1974).  One might even regret the demises of villains Scaramonga and Roquefort, as helpful as they were to the man who personified them.
    
    The "Dracula" in Lee was effectively suppressed in "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (Mirisch, 1970), a definite favorite of the actor's as conveyed by a variety of sources.  He played Mycroft, the elder brother of Sherlock Holmes and the supposed brains of the family in a performance far removed from his "terrifying" productions.
 
    "It was a high spot in my career," Lee commented (The Films of Lee).  He has repeatedly expressed his gratitude to producer Billy Wilder for the opportunity to do what was, in his words, a "first-class" film.
 
    Mycroft was the third "Holmes" character that Lee had played in his career.  First, he portrayed Sir Henry Baskerville in "Hound of The Baskervilles" (Hammer, 1959; with Peter Cushing as Sherlock), then the master sleuth himself in "Sherlock Holmes and The Deadly Necklace" (Constantin/CCC/Omnia/ Criterion/INCEI, 1962).
   
    As with his Fu Manchu, Lee's depiction of Sherlock Holmes was praised by a member of the character's author's family.  Arthur Conan Doyle's own son, Andrew, once commented that Lee's portrayal of literature's most celebrated detective was one of the finest he had ever seen.
   
    While the established talent of Christopher Lee has taken him beyond the likes of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, has he completely forsaken the field to which he owes his initial popularity?  Evidently not, considering such recent fare as "House of The Long Shadows" (1984) and "The Howling II" (1985).
   
    In spite of Lee's despondency over what he feels is the way most horror movies have diminished in quality, he still views them as "the most escapist films ever made."
   
    "I never set out to frighten people out of their wits, but always to divert and entertain them," claimed Lee (The Films of Lee).  He always tried to bring out what he believes are the essential elements in any horror movie, namely "suggestion, subtlety, taste, style, and conviction," and "to make the unbelievable believable."'
   
    The critics who damned Lee's "Dracula" twenty-seven years ago for its "gore" and "tasteless horror" did not foresee the boost it would give to a once-struggling actor.  Nor did they seem to recognize the potential of a dramatist who brought new dimensions to the films of the horror genre.
   
    How did future Dracula Christopher Lee happen to come into the world in 1922, the year when "Nosferatu," the German Dracula film starring Max Schreck and a favorite of Lee's, was released?  What of the strange chance that the Londoner resembled the Oriental who gave Sax Rohmer the idea for Fu Manchu?  Could it have been just a coincidence that Lee has almost the same face as Vlad Tepes Dracula (see the Vlad Tepes article, "The Real Dracula"), as was noticed by the reviewers when he essayed the part in "In Search of Dracula" (Aspekt, made-for- TV, 1972)?  Who else could boast of playing three separate characters from the Sherlock Holmes saga and be lauded by the son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?
   
    These questions could intrigue any psychic, admittedly.  However eerie they (and others one could think of) may seem, most of Christopher Lee's true fang are surely just grateful to the cosmic forces for giving them such a distinguished performer.
   
    This tall, well-spoken gentleman who avidly plays golf, has an extensive library, and devotes himself to his family has undoubtedly made his mark as an accomplished actor. He is to be congratulated, not only for his great progress, but for the loyalty he has always shown his fans.
 
    To sum it all up, the presence of Christopher Lee in a motion picture promises entertainment, even if the film itself does not.

                      CHRISTOPHER LEE BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

Adkinson, Robert & Eyles, Allen & Fry, Nicholas (editors), The House of Horror, Lorrimer Publishing Limited, 1973.
Brosnan, John, The Horror People, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1976.
Glut, Donald F., The Frankenstein Legend, The Scarecrow Press, 1973.
Glut, Donald F., The Dracula Book, The Scarecrow Press, 1975.
Raining, Peter (editor), The Dracula Scrapbook, (Lee, Christopher "Dracula and I"), Bramhall House, 1976.
Hart, Douglas C. & Pohle, Jr., Robert W., The Films of Christopher Lee, The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 1983.
Lee, Christopher, Tall, Dark, and Gruesome, Granada Publishing, 1978.
Marrero, Robert, Vampires--Hammer Style, RGM Publications, 1982.
Reed, Dr. Donald A. & Pattison, Patrick, Collector's Edition--Science Fiction Film Awards, (Life Career Award 1978--Christopher Lee), ESE California, 1981.

MAGAZINES:

Abrams, Steve, "Christopher Lee: 'I've Made My Last Horror Film," Quasimodo's Monster Magazine, No. 3. Vol. 1, 1975.
Borst, Ron V, "Meet Mr. Christopher Lee in An Exclusive Monster Times Interview," The Monster Times, No. 8, Vol. I, 1972.
Borst, Ronald V., "Horror of Dracula--An Analysis of The Hammer Film Classic," Photon, No. 27, 1977.
Hewetsong, Alan, "An Exclusive Interview with Christopher 'Dracula' Lee," Nightmare, No. 17, 1974.
Hoffman, Eric, "Christopher Lee--Master of Horror and Villainy," Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy, Nos. I & 2, vol. 1, 1977.
Knight, Chris, "The Vampire With The Golden Gun," Cinefantastique, No. 1, Vol. 4, 1975.
Lee, Christopher, "Are Movie Monsters Human?," Famous Monsters of Filmland, No. 29, 1964.
Lee, Christopher, "Dracula," Monsters of The Movies, No. 7, Vol. 1, 1975.
Lee, Christopher, "Christopher Lee Speaks Out," Hammer's Halls of Horror, No. 9, Vol. 2, 1978.
Leider, R. Allen, "A Candid Conversation with Christopher Lee...The End of the Count?," The Monster Times, No. 27, Vol. 1, 1973.
Moench, Doug, "Christopher Lee--Hammer's Hero of Horror," Dracula Lives, No. 12, Vol. 1, 1975.
Nahat Ed, "Christopher Lee," Starlog, No. 70, Vol. 6, 1983.
Palmer, Randy, "Dracula Without the Crepe," Famous Monsters, No. 133, 1977.
Parish, James Robert & Pitts, Michael R., "Christopher Lee," Cinefantastique, No. 1, Vol. 3, 1973.
Parry, Michael, "The Return of Christopher Lee," Castle of Frankenstein, No. 6, Vol. 2, 1965.
Parry, Mike, "Cof Interviews Christopher Lee," Castle of Frankenstein, Nos. 10, 11, & 12, Vol. 3, 1966.
Pound, Roscoe, "Monster No More," Fangoria, No. 1, Vol. 1, 1979.
Toefafer, Susan, "Christopher Lee A Candid Conversation," The Monster Times, No. 46, Vol. 1, 1976.
Author Unknown, "When Dracula Met the Vampires," Famous Monsters, No. 98, 1973.
Author Unknown, "Dracula L.A. 1972," Famous Monsters, No. 105, 1973.
Author Unknown, "Christopher Lee Times Three," Famous Monsters, No. 117, 1975.
Author Unknown, "Blood Banquet--Dracula's 15th Birthday," Famous Monsters, No. 145, 1978.
Author Unknown, "Christopher Lee--The Man Behind the Monster," House of Hammer, No. 1, Vol. 1, 1976.
Interviewer Unknown, "Dear Mr. Lee," Monster World, No. 4, 1965.
Author Unknown, "Christopher Lee--The Art of Playing Dracula," Souvenir Issue--(Dracula), No. 17, 1979.

From the (Winter '99 & 2000) issue of Nightshade:




INTERVIEW WITH DR. BLOOD, WEBMASTER OF DR. BLOOD'S VIDEO VAULT

CONDUCTED BY LUCINDA MACGREGOR

We want to highly recommend the site for its variety of horror materials, film reviews, goth models' photos, chat section, etc., plus its overall entertainment values and the entire layout.
A truly well-done website devoted to the horror genre.  Thus it seemed appropriate to seek an interview with Dr. Blood.

Q)  How did you develop your interest in the horror genre?

    This is a very tricky question to answer.  I think it must have been due to Hammer horror films and the old black and white Universal horror movies I watched as a child. There is a film that I remember called "I Walked With a Zombie" which I adore and it was shown by the BBC in a season of the old Universal horror films.  I used to stay up late and watch them until closedown . . . yes, there was a time when TV ended at around 11 p.m. here . . . that was true horror!  Anyway, I watched all of them, Boris Karloff as Frankenstein and the Mummy, Bela Lugosi as Dracula, and my favorite, Lon Chaney, Jr., as the Wolf Man.  I didn't limit myself only to horror films though.  I also loved watching Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and even watched Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant comedies from time to time.  I loved all movies!
    Possibly it was an escape from my loneliness as an only child, but I tend to think that I loved the ''fantasy" films because they were food for an ever curious mind which had long since outgrown more childish stories.
   When I was about eight years old, I read Lair by James Herbert, an English author who broke the mould as far as English horror stories were concerned.  The story was about giant man-eating rats.  It sounds silly but it was compulsive reading.  As I owned a pet rat, I bought the book because it had a picture of one on the cover, then I read it and loved it! Each year, Herbie seemed to publish close to my birthday and so I grew up reading his work as his writing developed.
    His latest work, Others, I could quite happily throw in the bin though as he took a leaf out of Stephen King's book (literally) and ruined the ending of it by killing off a beautiful character.
    Stephen King if you are reading this, I will never forgive you for killing Mattie Devore!
    Anyway, back to the story . . . well, I was always a bit of a sick puppy I suppose . . . I used to burn ants with a magnifying glass in the sun and all the other nasty things that little boys do . . . I never "got off" on it though like some weirdos mighthave done nor did I even think of progressing to more sadistic things.  I just loathe bugs and executing them made me feel so much better!  In fact, the only films that scare me are ones with bugs in.  I can't watch "Arachnophobia" or "Ticks" without feeling very uncomfortable . . . but I can watch someone being diced into a hundred pieces by a threshing machine and not even wince.  Horror is a very personal thing, isn't it?
    There is nothing in reality that actually scares me.  Some things sicken me to my stomach, such as rapists and people who inflict terrible injuries both mental and physical on others for no good reason at all, and by "no good reason" I mean politics or religion.  In general, I am hardened to just about everything.  Maybe it has occurred through horror films and books, but I prefer to think it is because people just do got hardened as they get older.

Q)  What motivated you to create your website?

    When I was unemployed after leaving university I was looking for a literary career and was planning a holiday to Whitby to get some inspiration in the place that Bram Stoker wrote Dracula.  Out of curiousity, I contacted a tourist exhibit there called "The Dracula Experience" and was told that they were planning to publish a magazine for fans of Dracula and launch The Dracula Experience Society, a kind of club, to enable like minded souls to meet.  I offered my services as the video reviewer and co-editor of the magazine and we published it for nearly four years.  After the "Centenary" celebrations, 1887 being when Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, interest died down a bit . . . so I decided to make a website and record the history of the society and parts of the magazine for people to look on with fondness.  I had been surfing the net for about two years before I thought of making a site. It all seemed so difficult . . . but I learnt HTML in about a week and coupled with MS Publisher I made a really appalling site out of all my notes and bits of the magazine.  I then looked at the "Official" Whitby Dracula Society site, which never got finished and was far more awful than mine!  So I then kept on plugging away and by October last year I had finally got a site up and running which I consider now to be one of the best horror sites on the World Wide Web.  A lot of other people think so too, which is why I keep adding more to it. It just keeps growing and growing . . .

(Interviewer response:  Yeah, that's why I wanted to interview you!)

Q)  How do you select what you will include on your site?  And how frequently do you update it?

      I just add stuff which I like. It isn't all horror, some things are just about me and my "other personalities," i.e. my real life!  But for the most part, I select images that will look good and capture the feel of the horror genre.  I look for the more tongue-in- cheek things, because horror films are supposed to be fun as well as being "sh_t-your- pants scary."  I have avoided real life horror on my site because there are too many of those "amputation and mutilation" sites out there already and although they are good for a chuckle once in a while they aren't of any lasting interest, I tend to concentrate an the "Video Vault" page itself.
    Watching films and giving my opinions on the ones I watch to the world is what keeps me going throughout the travesty which I call me life.  I also use the website to keep in contact with my online friends . . . which I seem to have acquired a great many of over the years . . . though in making them, I have also lost a great many real life friends . . .but that is another story . . . "internet addiction" is the key phrase here!

      I update once a week, or sometimes three or four times a day . . . it depends on what I have to add.  Visitors can often be surprised when they go to click "Back" and the page that was there before now has about twenty new things on it!

Q)  What is your background in website design?

I am self-taught in everything I do.  I had a mispent youth playing with early computers and my first job, at nineteen, was as a typesetter.  I used to create magazines and books on a clunky old computer which used a "mark up" language not too dissimilar to HTML.  Then I bought a couple of books on HTML, which were a waste of money as I already knew more than they told me just by looking at the source code of web pages I liked.
    I am currently employed as a website designer, though I have to say it isn't quite the wonderful job some people think it is.  I don't just surf the Net all day!  I have lots of mundane things to do, such as typing in lots of text and resizing pictures of some of the most boring things you could ever imagine, but it beats printing teabags which is what I used to do just a year ago.  My advice for anyone wishing to be a website designer, however, is "Don't."
    It is fun to do your own site, but when it comes to doing other people's it can be hell!

Q)  How popular is the horror genre in England where you reside?  Compare it to the U.S. and elsewhere.

    I think the popularity of the horror genre everywhere has been gradually dying because of "Trendy Hollywood" horror.  Films like "Scream" and "The Craft," although having some merits, just weren't scary at all.  Although we still get the occasional "good and gorey" horror film such as "Event Horizon" or even Wes Craven's "Wishmaster" . . . for the most part, horror has merged with the action genre and created hybrid comicbook stuff such as "Blade."
   The days of coming out of a "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequel buzzing with the post-film rush, seem long since over.  We have a more demanding audience here now who don't just want effects but want an engaging storyline as well.
    My friends in the U.S. love horror but also often cite the older films from the 80's as being the best.  I agree though I was not totally into Jason and Freddy and all the sequels.  The 80's were the best time for horror, when watching a video cassette of the latest scary film was a novelty.  Thus I think that the horror genre belongs more to a time than a region, but in saying that, I think there are things to come from this country which will shock the pants off the rest of the world . . . among them a few non-genre films which have moments of true horror.

Q)  Who are some of your favorite horror writers?  Your favorite horror films?

      Well, my favorite horror writer I already mentioned as being James Herbert.  I also read Stephen King, Peter James, Richard Laymon, Shaun Hutson and Guy N. Smith.  I read a few Dean Koontz novels, too, and felt them to be well-written but very "samey" and too derivative of others.  His best work, Phantoms, was made into an appalling film last year.
    My all time favorite horror film is "American Werewolf in London."  It is a great film to watch when it is raining outside and you are cosy and warm watching the two friends crossing the bleak Yorkshire moors!   I think the werewolf transformation scene was fantastic, Rick Baker excelled himself.  The love story involving the beautiful Jenny Agutter is,however, the best reason for watching!
    The scariest horror films I have seen are "The Haunting" and "The Exorcist."  They typified the genre for the decades they were made in.  I am also partial to "The Omen" trilogy . . . there's just something about the idea of such a power of evil existing as in those films that it makes you wonder about a lot of things that happen in the world.
    I am not into the really sick, gorey stuff with no plot, but one of the best of those is "Demons."
    I like a good story and a lot of frights . . . I would love to see a truly scary ghost story but apart from the "Entity" and "Poltergeist" that genre has been abandoned for the most part.
    The BBC did a short film for Christmas one year called "Lost Hearts" which being based on an M. R. James story was the most horrific ghost story I have ever seen, and I would love to see some big shot Hollywood director make an anthology of all M.R. James' stories.

Q)  What are some of your favorite horror zines?  What about your favorite horror websites?

    I used to like reading Fangoria but I must be out of touch because I haven't seen one in years.  I have no idea if it is even in existence anymore.  If it is, I would love to see Fango's web site.  I have also read UK based horror magazines such as Shivers and The Dark Side, the latter being my favorite though it has also ceased to be.  I must admit I spend more time reading computer magazines than any other kind nowadays.
    As for my favorite horror websites, well I kinda like my own more than anyone else's!  I do like aspects of some of the better designed vampire sites such as "Pathway to Darkness" and some of the personal homepages which I have listed among my "Bloody Links" but what I really like on the web are all the accounts of true ghost stories . . . they send shivers up and down my spine every time!
    I am also an addict for chatrooms and have built up quite a reputation in places like "Real Hollywood" and "Eurochat" because of my very English sense of humor and bitterness towards any form of censorship.  I have made a great many friends online, most of them women who seem attracted to my "dark side"!  LOL!  I have fallen in love a few times and been badly hurt with online relationships, but it doesn't seem to stop me . . . I am now currently in love with a beautiful NY girl who is going to take me to the witchcraft museum in Salem . . . maybe this time I have found my soul mate.

Q)  Have you made many contacts because of your website?

    I have made quite a few friends and interesting contacts through my website, got my present job because of it, and even found Michelle, the girl of my dreams through it.  She is a werewolf, by the way . . . but you can't have everything can you?  To be blunt, I have met people a lot stranger than that and have attracted a few psychos along the way . . . but that goes with the territory . . . if you play with the Devil, expect hime to come looking for you when you are home.

Q)  What direction do you think the horror genre is taking?
   
    I think the horror genre is amalgamating far too much with the action genre.  I have seen truly horrific scenes in a great many non-genre films which I would have love to have seen in a film classed as horror, e.g. Marvin's torture in "Reservoir Dogs."
    Films like "Spawn" and "Blade" and, to a certain extent, "Razor Blade Smile" have gone more for the comic-book hero genre and have been a little bit disappointing in that they were not true horror films.  I think the great days of films like "Re-animator" are over . . . but maybe someone will change my mind with a truly adult horror one of these days and surprise me.

Q)  What direction do you think the Internet (as a tool of communication) will take?

    I think the intemet will become more channelled and focused.  At the moment a lot of sites never get seen because they are hidden away among cliquey little webrings and are not often submitted to search engines and it is a shame.  More choice but channelled into a better order would make the Internet a much more user friendly environment.  It should be like TV but without censorship . . . any form of censorship is like a gag round anyone trying to communicate and that is the sole purpose of the Intemet, isn't it?  But I can imagine that any form of re-ordering the net would lead to a lot of "puritanical" censorship for the sake of the world's children . . . and that would be a pity because having freedom to view as much information as possible can only ever be a good thing.
    I would like to see the bandwidth increase to allow films and videos to be viewed more easily across the net, and I would like to see webphones and video conferencing becoming more popular.  Those things at least are happening slowly but surely.

Q)  What are your future plans for your website?

    I plan to make my website the ultimate horror resource on the web.  The interactivity of the Demeter online magazine for people to send their own work to and see it published instantly, will be my priority, though I am also looking at including a few movie MPEGS for those who just like to watch.  There will also be a few more of my original pieces of programming and examples of my musical talents . . . I will be adding lots of stuff!

Q)  What attracts you the most to horror?

      An escape from the humdrum of day to day living, the chance to see human kind defeat yet another monster . . . monsters which mirror our own personal demons.

BE SURE TO VISIT DR. BLOOD'S FANGTASTIC SITE AT

http://www.deancharles.clara.co.ok

EMAIL: DrBlood@deancharles.clara.co.uk



ATTENTION:
WE HAVE A PERSONAL COLLECTION OF CELEBRITY PHOTOS AT ANOTHER WEBSITE.  
CLIVE BARKER (WRITER/ARTIST/MOVIE DIRECTOR)
NIGEL BENNETT (VAMPIRE IN TV SERIES "FOREVER KNIGHT" & HE HAS STARRED ON MANY OTHER TV SHOWS AS WELL AS A REGULAR STARRING ROLE ON "LEXX" & MANY FILMS & CO-AUTHORS VAMPIRE NOVELS WITH P. N. ELROD)
JONATHAN FRID (BARNABAS ON THE ORIGINAL "DARK SHADOWS" TV SERIES 1966-71)
JERRY LACY (REV. TRASK ON "DARK SHADOWS" AS WELL AS THE GHOST OF HUMPHREY BOGART IN WOODY ALLEN'S FILM, "PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM")
ALSO
JOEL CROTHERS (STARRED IN "DARK SHADOWS" & "EDGE OF NIGHT" SOAP OPERA)
LARA PARKER (STARRED IN "DARK SHADOWS" & AN EPISODE OF "NIGHT STALKER" AS WELL AS OTHER SHOWS & SHE WRITES VAMPIRE NOVELS BASED ON THE "DARK SHADOWS" SERIES)
KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT (STARRED IN "DARK SHADOWS" & OTHER SHOWS PLUS SHE PUBLISHES & WRITES BOOKS -- POMEGRANATE PRESS

ENTER THE HORROR LOBBY!

MORE TO COME!