Editing Peter Cushing (section)

===Later career===
Towards the end of his career, Cushing performed in films and roles critics widely considered below his talent.<ref name="SWI56" /> The American filmmaker [[John Carpenter]] approached him to appear in the horror film ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978) as [[Samuel Loomis]], the psychiatrist of the murderer [[Michael Myers (Halloween)|Michael Myers]], but Cushing turned down the role. It was also turned down by [[Christopher Lee]], and eventually went to [[Donald Pleasence]], another of Cushing's former co-stars.<ref>"Death on DVD: Halloween [R2]" (2001). ''[[Film Review (magazine)|Film Review]]'' 36—43: 284.</ref> Cushing appeared alongside his old co-stars Lee and [[Vincent Price]] in ''[[House of the Long Shadows]]'' (1983), a horror-[[parody film]] featuring [[Desi Arnaz Jr.]] as an author trying to write a gothic novel in a deserted Welsh mansion.<ref name="Meikle46" />

Cushing appeared in the television film ''The Masks of Death'' (1984), marking both the last time he played Sherlock Holmes and the final performance for which he received top billing.<ref name="SWI56" /> He appeared alongside the British actor [[John Mills]] as [[Dr. Watson]], and the two were noted by critics for their strong chemistry and camaraderie. As both actors were in their seventies, the screenwriter [[N. J. Crisp|N.J. Crisp]] and the executive producer [[Kevin Francis (film producer)|Kevin Francis]] both in turn sought to portray them as two old-fashioned men in a rapidly changing world. Cushing's biographer Tony Earnshaw said Cushing's performance in ''The Masks of Death'' was arguably his best interpretation of the role, calling it "the culmination of a life-time as a Holmes fan, and more than a quarter of a century of preparation to play the most complex of characters".<ref>Earnshaw, p. 82</ref> The final notable roles of Cushing's career were in the comedy ''[[Top Secret!]]'' (1984), the fantasy film ''[[Sword of the Valiant]]'' (also 1984) and the adventure film ''[[Biggles: Adventures in Time]]'' (1986).<ref name="SWI56" /> In 1986 he appeared on the British television show ''[[Jim'll Fix It]]'', hosted by [[Jimmy Savile]], in which it was arranged for the wishes of guests to be granted. Cushing wished for a strain of rose to be named after his late wife, and it was arranged for the Helen Cushing Rose to be grown at the Wheatcroft Rose Garden in [[Edwalton, Nottinghamshire|Edwalton]], Nottinghamshire.<ref name="Nottingham" />

During this period, Cushing was honoured by the [[British Film Institute]], which invited him in 1986 to give a lecture at the [[National Film Theatre]]. He also staged ''An Evening with Peter Cushing'' at St. Edmund's Public School in [[Canterbury]] to raise money for the local Cancer Care Unit. In 1987, a [[watercolour painting]] Cushing painted was accepted by [[Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex|Prince Edward]] and auctioned at a charity event he organised to raise funds for [[The Duke of Edinburgh's Award]] Scheme.<ref>Cushing, p. 208</ref> Also that year, a sketch Cushing drew of Sherlock Holmes was accepted as the official logo of the Northern Musgraves Sherlock Holmes Society.<ref>Riley, Dick and McAllister, Pam (1999). ''The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Sherlock Holmes''. London: [[Continuum International Publishing Group]]. p. 104. {{ISBN|0826411169}}.</ref>

Cushing wrote two autobiographies, ''Peter Cushing: An Autobiography'' (1986) and ''Past Forgetting: Memoirs of the Hammer Years'' (1988).<ref name="Monush" /> Cushing wrote the books as what he called "a form of therapy to stop me going stark, raving mad" following the loss of his wife. His old friend and co-star John Mills encouraged him to publish his memoirs as a way of overcoming the reclusive state Cushing had placed himself into following her death.<ref name="Majendie" /> In 1989 he was made an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] for his contributions to the British film industry.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oliver |first=Myrna |date=1994-08-12 |title=Peter Cushing, 81; Starred in Classic Horror Movies |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-12-mn-26296-story.html |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Cushing also wrote a children's book called ''The Bois Saga'', a story based on the history of England. Published in 1994, it was originally written specifically for the daughter of Cushing's long-time secretary and friend Joyce Broughton, to help her overcome reading problems resulting from her [[dyslexia]]. It was Broughton who encouraged Cushing to have the book published.<ref>[http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/lit/47828.shtml "CUSHING, PETER (1913–1994) The Bois Saga"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622000151/http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/lit/47828.shtml |date=22 June 2013}}. ''AntiQBook''. Retrieved 14 February 2018.</ref> His final acting job was narrating, along with Christopher Lee, the Hammer Films documentary ''Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror'' (1994), which was recorded only a few weeks before his death.<ref name="Higham" /> Produced by the American writer and director Ted Newsom, his contribution was recorded in [[Canterbury]], near his home.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} Lee recognised Cushing's health was fading and did his best to keep his friend's spirits up, but Lee later claimed he had a premonition that it would be the last time he saw Cushing alive, which proved to be true.<ref name="LeeNotebook" />