Peter Cushing: a birthday tribute

Peter Cushing reunited with Dave Prowse in Star Wars

The presence of Alec Guinness ensured the critics would pay some attention to Star Wars – but the name that would have attracted the interest of genre fans was that of Peter Cushing.

Cushing would have been 101 today. (Thanks to the fundraisers of @UKGarrison for reminding me of that on Twitter this morning and inspiring this blog post.) So it's a fitting time to consider his contribution to the most successful film of his long career.

Biggs Darklighter - the original Rebel

"The Rebellion's spreading, Luke": Garrick Hagon as Biggs confides in Luke Skywalker

I can distinctly remember a thought that crossed my mind about half an hour into my first viewing of Star Wars, one fateful Saturday afternoon in February 1978.

It was at just about the point when Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the droids were arriving at Mos Eisley, heading for their first meeting with Han Solo.

Looking back at Star Wars Weekly – issue 1

Star Wars Weekly issue 1, with cover art by Howard Chaykin

Just as Star Wars was finally arriving in the UK regions, so was the comic book adaptation of the movie – heralded by a TV ad narrated by See Threepio himself.