For those of us older members of the Star Wars community it may seem slightly unbelievable that it’s been two decades since Peter Cushing passed away. An icon of British cinema, his iconic performance as Grand Moff Tarkin set the template for the English accented villain in the Star Wars galaxy and 20 years on the power of that performance hasn’t diminished one jot.
Remembering the passing of a childhood hero is always a melancholy occasion. The 1990s were a wicked decade for me in this regard: 1993 saw the passing of Vincent Price, 1995 took Donald Pleasence, 1996 claimed Lucio Fulci, 1999 saw Oliver Reed succumbing to his demons. In between Price and Pleasence, however, yet another icon was taken from us: on August 11th of that year, Peter Cushing passed away at the age of 81.