Editing Peter Cushing (section)

===Return to England and theatrical work ===
Cushing returned to England during the Second World War. Although some childhood injuries prevented him from serving on active duty,<ref name="SWI56" /> a friend suggested he entertain the troops by performing as part of the [[Entertainments National Service Association]].<ref name="Payne" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-cushing-1375859.html|title=Obituary: Peter Cushing|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=12 August 1994|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829054242/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-cushing-1375859.html|archive-date=29 August 2017}}</ref> In 1942, the [[Noël Coward]] play ''[[Private Lives]]'' was touring the military stations and hospitals in the [[British Isles]], and the actor playing the lead role of Elyot Chase was called to service. Cushing agreed to take his place with very little notice or time to prepare, and earned a salary of ten pounds a week for the job.<ref>Cushing, p. 75</ref> During this tour he met Violet Hélène "Helen" Beck, a former dancer who was starring in the lead female role of Amanda Prynne.<ref name="Bangor" /><ref name="Veg">[https://web.archive.org/web/19981205075607/http://www.vegsoc.org/HQdata/cushing.html "Obituary: Peter Cushing OBE"] (Autumn 1994). ''[[Vegetarian Society|The Vegetarian]]''.</ref> They fell in love and were married on 10 April 1943.<ref name="Cush81">Cushing, p. 81</ref> Cushing eventually had to leave ENSA due to [[Pulmonary edema|lung congestion]], an ailment his wife helped him recover from.<ref name="Payne" /> The two had little money around this time, and Cushing had to collect from both [[National Assistance]] and the Actors' Benevolent Fund. Cushing struggled to find work during this period, with some plays he was cast in failing to even make it past rehearsals into theatres. Others closed after a few showings, like an ambitious five-hour stage adaptation of [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s novel ''[[War and Peace]]'' that opened and closed in 1943 at the [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]] in London.<ref name="Cush81" />

Cushing recorded occasional radio spots and appeared in week-long stints as a featured player at the [[Q Theatre]], but otherwise work was difficult to come by.<ref name="Earnshaw3" /> He found a modest success in a 1945 production of Sheridan's ''The Rivals'' at [[City of Westminster|Westminster's]] [[Criterion Theatre]], which earned him enough money to pay off some growing debts.<ref>Cushing, p. 84</ref> The war years continued to prove difficult for him, however, and at one point he was forced to work designing ladies [[Headscarf|head-scarves]] at a [[Macclesfield]]-based silk manufacturer to make ends meet.<ref name="Earnshaw3" /> In the autumn of 1946, after the war ended, Cushing unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of Paul Verrall in a stage production of the play ''[[Born Yesterday (play)|Born Yesterday]]'' that was being staged by the famed actor and director [[Laurence Olivier]]. He was not cast because he insisted he could not perform in an [[American English|American accent]].<ref name="Earnshaw3" /> After Cushing attempted the accent and failed, Olivier replied, "Well, I appreciate you not wasting my time. I shall remember you."<ref>Cushing, p. 87</ref> Nearing middle age and finding it increasingly harder to make a living in acting, Cushing began to consider himself a failure.<ref name="SWI56" />

In 1947, when Olivier sought him out for his film adaptation of ''[[Hamlet]]'', Cushing's wife Helen pushed him to pursue a role.<ref name="SWI56" /> Far from being deterred by Cushing's unsuccessful audition the year before, Olivier remembered the actor well and was happy to cast him,<ref name="SWI56" /><ref name="Earnshaw3" /> but the only character left unfilled was the relatively small part of the foppish [[courtier]] [[Characters in Hamlet#Osric|Osric]].<ref name="SWI56" /> Cushing accepted the role, and ''[[Hamlet (1948 film)|Hamlet]]'' (1948) marked his British film debut.<ref name="Monush" /> One of Cushing's primary scenes involved Osric talking to [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]] and [[Horatio (character)|Horatio]] while walking down a wide stone spiral stairway. The set provided technical difficulties, and all of Cushing's lines had to be post-synched. Cushing had recently undergone dental surgery and he was trying not to open his mouth widely for fear of spitting. When this hindered the post-synching process, Olivier leaned in close to Cushing's face and said, "Now drown me. It'll be a glorious death, so long as I can hear what you're saying."<ref>Cushing, p. 90</ref>

''Hamlet'' won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], and earned Cushing praise for his performance.<ref name="Bangor" /> Also appearing in the film was [[Christopher Lee]], who eventually became a close friend and frequent co-star with Cushing.<ref name="Monush419">Monush, p. 419</ref> Cushing designed custom hand-scarves in honour of the ''Hamlet'' film, and as it was being exhibited across England, the scarves were eventually accepted as gifts by [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|the Queen]] and her daughter [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]].<ref name="Payne" /> After ''Hamlet'', both Peter and Helen Cushing accepted a personal invitation from Olivier to join [[Old Vic]], Olivier's repertory theatre company, which embarked on a year-long tour of [[Australasia]].<ref name="Earnshaw3" /> The tour, which lasted until February 1949, took them to [[Melbourne]], [[Sydney]], [[Brisbane]], [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], [[Auckland]], [[Wellington]], [[Christchurch]] and [[Dunedin]], and included performances of [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]]'s ''[[The School for Scandal]]'', Shakespeare's ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'', [[Thornton Wilder]]'s ''[[The Skin of Our Teeth]]'', [[Jean Anouilh]]'s ''[[Antigone (Anouilh)|Antigone]]'' and [[Anton Chekhov]]'s ''[[A Marriage Proposal|The Proposal]]''.<ref name="Cush92">Cushing, pp. 92—95</ref>