Mr Cushing's Autobiography,

[Old Soul]

I had just bought the book Peter Cushing An Autobiography 1987. Ummm well I bought it on Ebay, ( Ok, Ok , take me out back to the woodshed ) But not all the stuff on there is bad.

After reading Mr. Lee

[Alfonso Casal]

[quote][b]
Someone told me that his was a two-part book, but I can

[Josslyn]

Last time I checked, Midnight Marquee still has My Autobiography/Past Forgettings for sale.
http://www.midmar.com
You can also get Tall, Dark and Gruesome with a signed bookplate if you're interested. Same for Michael Ripper's bio.
I tend to like that publisher's books.
It took me a long time to track down a copy of Cushing's book (the Midnight Marquee edition) but it was well worth it. There are some truly wonderful and surprising stories. Even if you aren't that familiar with Cushing (and I wasn't at the time) it is an excellent read.

[Charles Prepolec]

I had just bought the book Peter Cushing An Autobiography 1987.

1987? Interesting, as the first edition was published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in 1986. Blue dustjacket with a cameo-like photo of PC as Sherlock Holmes in The Masks of Death. Old Soul, if you don't mind, please let me know who the publisher was, as I'm curious about various editions.

As Alfonso pointed out the second book is indeed Past Forgetting: Memoirs of the Hammer Years. Also first published in the UK by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, but in 1988. Full page close-up photo of PC in top-hat as either Dr. Pope in And Now the Screaming Starts or as Baron Frankenstein in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell adorns the front of this dust-jacket. Forgive my vagueness on which film, but PC wears the same blonde wig in both films.

Peter Cushing's self-deprecating sense of humour is evident throughout both books, but there is also a thread of longing or disappointment that seems to underpin the text (at least to me) giving his memoirs a somewhat disjointed quality at times. It is also worth noting that although the second book is subtitled Memoirs of the Hammer Years PC doesn't get terribly in-depth about the period and comments on a great many other topics throughout. Not a bad thing, as such, but worth mentioning. In any event, both books are very enjoyable reads and worth seeking out. His many comments and anecdotes regarding Mr. Lee are wonderful!

Congrats Old Soul on picking up a great read by and about a great actor and wonderful man.

Cheers!

[Old Soul]

The book is coming from England, so it will probably take about a week to get here. Once here I will let you know about it.

The bidding was hot, and I was out bid a few days before on the same book, (that one was an old library book, and not in good shape). But this time I put the winning bid just before it closed. They said the book was in great shape. It was about half the cost of what they are selling it for on Amazon. So I think I got a good deal. ( I will really know once I see the condition of the book)

I am really looking forward to being able to read this book. Now I have the time, I plan to sit outside on the lounge and really get into the book.

It was frustrating having to put down Mr. Lee

[Charles Prepolec]

Old Soul I found the completed auction and can see which edition it was. First paperback edition published in the UK in 1987. Nice trade paperback format. I used to have that edition but have since replaced it with a first edition that I found in Vancouver about 4 years ago.

Strangely, our main branch library here in Calgary used to have a signed first of Past Forgetting: Memoirs of the Hammer Years but it has since vanished into some overzealous fan's personal collection. Not my collection, I hasten to add!

Cheers!

[Old Soul]

I remember from time to time you have talked a little about your books. You must have a really nice collection. What is your prize book that you have?

Gee Charles a signed copy of Mr. Cushing

I think the picture on the cover of volume 2 (I don't have it to hand) was from AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS - didn't he wear a hat in the photo (I don't think he wore any hat in MONSTER FROM HELL)

[Alfonso Casal]

(I don't think he wore any hat in MONSTER FROM HELL)

He did in at least one scene. In the scene where Frankenstein first appears, returning to the Asylum, he's sporting a top hat. Also, as Charles pointed out, he's wearing the same wig; of which Mr. Cushing remarked, "(It made me) look like Helen Hayes."

[Charles Prepolec]

I remember from time to time you have talked a little about your books. You must have a really nice collection. What is your prize book that you have?

My serious book collecting is based around Sherlock Holmes. My most prized books (in a dollar value sense) are my first edition titles ranging from the 1890s to late 1920s by Arthur Conan Doyle, both Holmes stories and his other works. I also have a number of small press and privately printed titles related to Holmes that have some serious collectable value. I've been collecting Sherlockiana since 1987 or so, and have pulled together about 1500 books on the topics of Doyle and Holmes. This doesn't include the wealth of pamphlets, paperbacks, film memorabilia, videos, or any of the other ephemera on Sherlock Holmes. If interested, you can view a very small selection of my Sherlockiana collection here

For the sheer pleasure that reading them has given me, I tend to prize my complete collection of first editions by George MacDonald Fraser quite highly. His non-fiction is every bit as stimulating and well-written as his Flashman series, and I'm pleased to have firsts of every book published under his name.

For film related books, I'm afraid to say that I generally consider them working reference books rather than collectables, so tough call there. That being said, I do have a variety of editions of both Mr. Lee's and Peter Cushing's respective autobiographies - paperbacks for reading and reference to avoid over-handling the first editions that remain largely untouched once they hit the shelf.

[quote][b][b]Gee Charles a signed copy of Mr. Cushing

You're quite right Alfonso, I totally forgot about his entrance in the movie.

Also, I understand that Peter also read his autobiography (at least vol 1) for Talking books for the Blind service.

[Old Soul]

I got my book this afternoon. It came a lot faster then I thought it would.

It looks like a one or two day read, depending on what I have to do.

I Love your collection Charles, have you read all those books?

What actor do you feel played the best Sherlock Holmes? Personally I like Jeremy Brett (Sp?) Perhaps it was because they stayed so close to the books. But he did seem to fit the part extremely well.

Well got to go read my book.

Old Soul

[Charles Prepolec]

I Love your collection Charles, have you read all those books?

Read them? Good Lord, I thought I was just supposed to buy them. ;) Seriously, I have managed to read the bulk of them, but I don't read variant editions of the same book and some I've abandoned after just a taste (mostly because they are simply awful!). One of my biggest joys was that this year I managed to add to the wealth of Sherlock Holmes fiction by publishing a small collection of stories by various Sherlockian writers. Just a 'small press' paperback thing, but it was my baby from start to finish. Details on "Curious Incidents: Being a Collection of the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" can be found here.

[b]What actor do you feel played the best Sherlock Holmes? Personally I like Jeremy Brett

Depends on my mood and what element of Holmes I'm looking for in a performance. My favorites tend to change quite often. Brett was good when he was on his game and when the scripts were good. Unfortunately he wasn't always in top form (he could go over the top at the drop of a deerstalker, plus also endured various problems related to his battle with Bipolar Disorder) and Granada Television went through a lot of management and production changes during the run of his series, so not all episodes are gems by any means. To keep this even vaguely related to the purpose of this site, I've always thought that Peter Cushing was solid in the part. I'm particularly fond of his 1968 BBC series, or at least the remaining episodes.

I've also always regretted that Mr. Lee never had the chance to play Holmes in an A-list production while still in his prime. Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace doesn't quite cut it, but the fault lies not with Mr. Lee, but rather with a mediocre script, his dubbing, and just an overall shoddy production. A case of too many cooks I suppose. It felt rather more like a 1940s film in its sensibilities and structure than the 1962 film that it was. Still, it does have its points of interest (mainly Mr. Lee, Thorley Walters and Hans Söhnker), and I find myself looking forward to the DVD release by Retromedia in August.

At some point, I look forward to viewing the two Sherlock Holmes: the Golden Years telefilms, that Mr. Lee did more than ten years ago, in their uncut form. At present I've only seen the truncated versions available in North America and have been relatively underwhelmed by them. Nothing wrong with Mr. Lee's performance, but once again the scripts, plus the concept, just left me cold. One of these days though I'll get around to viewing them in their full-length versions and finish my article on Mr. Lee and his association with the character of Sherlock Holmes. In the meantime there are but parts one and two available here.

Enjoy your read, and by all means please share your views on Peter Cushing's book!

Cheers!

[Colin Bushby]

I have recently perchased a book on Peter Cushing from The Monsterbash.

It is simply called Peter Cushing, large, softback cover.
There are loads of storys from other artistes and at the back is a list of his theatre work. There are loads of lovely photos, some I have never seen before.

Does anyone lese have this book?

Yes Colin B, I THINK I have that book - does it have a mid 1960s b/w photo of Peter on the front ?? This is the book I have (boxed somewhere in my muddled house)