I know that David Peel, Baron Meinster, in Hammer films "The Brides Of Dracula", was born on June 19th, 1920 and died in September of 1981 at the age of 61. Can anyone tell me what his exact date of death and cause of death was?Thank You, John R. Tracy
shareDEAR JOHN
DAVID PEEL DIED ON SEPT 3RD 1980. I KNOW BECAUSE I FOUND A ADDRESS TO WRITE
TO HIM IN 1980 AS HE HAD A ART GALLERY.. I WROTE HIM AND A FRIEND OF HIS
WROTE ME BACK TELLING ME HE DIED AFTER A LONG ILLESS..
I WAS 14 WHEN I SAW DAVID PEEL IN BRIDES OF DRACULA AND THOUGHT HE WAS THE
MOST HANDSOME MAN I EVER SAW...
HIS FRIEND READ MY LETTER TO HIM ON HIS DEATH BED AND SENT ME A PHOTO OF
DAVID WHEN VERY YOUNG...
SO I WOULD THINK HE DIED OF CANCER BUT I NEVER ASKED HIS FRIEND THINKING
IT WAS NOT A THING TO DO...
I HOPE THIS HELPS
MARGARET CRAWFORD
Dear Margaret, thank you so very much for the info. on David Peel. I have been trying, without much success, to get this info. for yrs. I subscribe to LSOH. magazine and i knew that he was an art/antiques dealer. I have a picture of him taken, at his gallery, in 1972, again from LSOH. I now can add some info for you. According to those who knew him he died from a liver disease associated with hepatitis that he contracted in the army. He is buried in Holwell Churchyard Oxfordshire. I just received this info. from Antony Galione. I have no way to verify it. As you i was 14 when i first saw "The Brides Of Dracula", this is, by far my favorite Hammer Movie. I know that he made a few war movies and his last film appearance was the 1960'"The Hands Of Orlac". He only had a 20 sec. part as the doomed airplane pilot. I hve some more info on him from Roy Ashton, the makeup artist on most of the Hammer films. If you want/need more info please let me know. Again, thanks. Best, John. [email protected]
shareIt is indeed a shame that his talent was not exploited further. Not only is "The Brides of Dracula" my favourite Hammer film, it is my favourite vampire movie. Period. His performance, as well as those of Martita Hunt, Freda Jackson, and Peter Cushing, and the gorgeous cinematography and sets make it a winner all the way. I just ordered it on DVD from Amazon. It comes with 7 other films, but I bought the set for "Brides." David Peel was an exceptionally handsome man.
shareSadly, David Peel was sidelined from the marketing for BOD apparently due to his being arrested for gross indecency in a public toilet at some point during the film's production. As well as that being a specific criminal offence, at that time in England engaging in homosexual acts anywhere was against the law. Hammer decided to distance themselves from the actor. His name doesn't appear on the posters, and he's about fifth name down in the end credits despite being the second lead of the film. Hammer never used him again, and he didn't get a lot of work elsewhere. He retired from the industry soon afterwards.
FWIW I thought he did a fine job as Meinster and would have liked to have seen the character get his own series.