Ted Newsom wrote:
Johnny N: your comments are noted for the record.

I have no idea why you bring up the Tudor Tea Room in this regard; I certainly had nothing to do with any such incident. If you think two old friends sharing a few minutes of laughter watching cartoons is somehow demeaning or patronizing, my sympathies to you.

Those two fellows would not have seen each other had they not had this opportunity to work together. Christopher Lee has said as much. He would not have emotionally been able to travel to Whitstable to say goodbye. Working together one last time was a viable option.

I like the BBC show, too, although it is what it is: a chance to use free clips from the film library the BBC held in license at the time to illustrate the Hammer story. In that regard, it is as "cynical" as F & B: using what footage you have to create something new. Would that they, or I, would have had a couple million dollars for unlimited film clips and interviews. Sorry you don't like it, but the new version is... much prettier. Sounds nicer, too.


To clarify:

The Tudor Tea Room (I note you know the actual venue name) wasn't a direct comment on Flesh & Blood's production but a general observation on the in-print litany of Cushing that's developed since his death, part of which the LSoH article on the production of Flesh & Blood taps into. There just comes a point when fans need to know when enough is enough, and back off.

I appreciate your sympathy but my point wasn't that the two men enjoying cartoons is patronizing per se, but that the reporting of this very private moment by outsiders for fans to indulge in (ahh, look at the poor old dear close to death enjoying cartoons with a friend, isn't it magical?) is deeply patronising and certainly would have been met with a rebuff if countenanced by either Cushing or Lee during their prime years. You're commoditizing someone's years of sincere friendship in the face of mortality. Hope you feel as maganimous when your time comes.

I can't comment on the sincerity of Lee's remarks re. reuniting but I would contrast this gathering which, as described in LSoH was all part of a rush to furnish product, with the 1994 private dinner Denis Meikle arranged for Michael Carreras a short time before his death, in which Carreras was reunited with Brian Lawrence, Roy Skeggs, Tony Hinds, Hugh Harlow et al.

I didn't call Flesh & Blood cynical but, regardless of cost/rights issues, the BBC documentary was simply more informative, more interesting and better sourced. Certainly the sheer excellence of LSoH illustrates that "millions of dollars" is not the issue. Perhaps another choice was "not" to make Flesh & Blood, which would have left Cushing well alone and left Lee with the choice as to how best conduct himself in private.

Last Edited By: Jul 28 11 6:23 PM. Edited 1 times.