25 Star Wars Actors Who Are No Longer With Us

3. Peter Cushing

The legendary Peter Cushing, veteran of Hammer Horror films who often appeared opposite Christopher Lee, and starred as Sherlock Holmes, Van Helsing, and Baron Frankenstein, played Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars. No stranger to sci-fi and horror fans alike as a result, Cushing also starred as The Doctor in the short-lived big screen Doctor Who movies of the 1960s. Cushing's role in Star Wars was perhaps his last role in a major production, but he remained active, health permitting, for years. While on-set on Star Wars, the boots given to him by wardrobe hurt his feet to the point that George Lucas allowed him to play the role in slippers, and shot him from the knees up in most scenes, or behind desks or other objects. In 1982 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but fought the disease for over a decade, eventually passing away in August, 1994 at age 81.