So when the time came I was ready Oddly enough, to play a character who said nothing [The Creature in The Curse of Frankenstein]. [76][113] Lee respected Depp as "a fellow survivor",[114] describing him as "inventive and [having] enormous versatility". Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, CStJ (27 May 1922 - 7 June 2015) was an English actor. [181] In 1997, he was appointed a Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John. [171], Lee died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on 7 June 2015 after being admitted for respiratory problems and heart failure, shortly after celebrating his 93rd birthday. [13] One night, he was introduced to Prince Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, the assassins of Grigori Rasputin, whom Lee was to play many years later. The English-born actor, who made his name playing Dracula and Frankenstein's. [63] For the final few months of his service, Lee, who spoke fluent French, Italian and German, among other languages, was seconded to the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects. [113] He narrated and sang for the Danish musical group The Tolkien Ensemble's 2003 studio album At Dawn in Rivendell, taking the role of Treebeard, King Thoden and others in the readings or singing of their respective poems or songs. Lee saw his stepfather for the last time on a bus in London in 1940, by then divorced from Lee's mother, though Lee did not speak to him. [91] However, the second film, To the Devil a Daughter (1976), was troubled by production difficulties and was disowned by its author. Christopher Lee - Wikipedia A friend said: 'Do you know you are in a film in Old Compton Street?' His first role with the studio was The Curse of Frankenstein and it was the first of 20 films that he made with Peter Cushing. 260 Squadron RAF as an intelligence officer. Christopher was 55 years old. He quickly found himself among a group of amateurs under contract with the Rank Organization, which provided acting training in the film companys so-called Charm School., Lee made his film debut in 1948 with a one-line bit part in director Terence Youngs Corridor of Mirrors.. "[144] He sang the closing credits song of the 1994 horror film Funny Man. [107] Lee's appearance in the final film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, was cut from the theatrical release, but the scene was reinstated in the extended edition. [147], With the song "Jingle Hell," Lee entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. [64], Lee mentioned that during the war he was attached to special forces, but declined to give details. [4] His step-father had gone bankrupt, owing 25,000 (equivalent to US$1,648,985 in 2021). Threw a bic pen into a tree in front of me. Christopher has been an enormous inspiration to me my entire life. In 1956, the success of the Hammer films kick-started my career. "[72], Because of his filming schedule in Bangkok, film director Ken Russell was unable to sign Lee to play the Specialist in Tommy (1975). Lee had met J. R. R. Tolkien once, which made him the only person involved in the film trilogy to have done so. Eventually I told them that I wasnt going to play Dracula any more. The veteran actor was best known for roles including Dracula and Saruman in the Lord of the Rings franchise. "[194] He was awarded the Bram Stoker Gold Medal by the Trinity College Philosophical Society, of which Stoker had been president, and a copy of Collected Ghost Stories of MR James by Trinity College's School of English.[195]. Empire magazine's entry for Lee's portrayal of Dracula as the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time. 1 for 4 weeks, Aging beloved YA author Judy Blumes inevitable foil isnt so bad after all, Review: The entertaining Peter Pan & Wendy charts a familiar course to Neverland, Rihanna has Smurfs on the brain for her next movie: Hope this gives me cool points. [172][173][174], Following Lee's death, fans, friends, actors, directors and others involved in the film industry publicly gave their personal tributes. [9] During this time, his mother took his sister and him to Wengen in Switzerland. All rights reserved. Loomis. That's the only reason I did them. So I crept along there heavily disguised in dark glasses and scarf, and found the cinema and there was my name. Thinking he should "do something constructive for my keep", he applied to join RAF Intelligence. [113] He served as the narrator on The Nightmare Before Christmas poem, also written by Tim Burton as well. As a Grammy Award winning drummer, he collaborated with over 14 bands before moving to Santa Barbara in 2005. Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93 after being hospitalised for respiratory problems and heart failure Guardian Christopher Lee This article is more than 7 years old. Following his World War II service he retired from the RAF in 1946 with the rank of flight lieutenant. Biography - A Short Wiki He became known for playing Count Dooku in Star Wars and Saruman in Lord of the Rings. [148][149] After media attention, the song rose to No. Other films in Europe he made include Castle of the Living Dead (1964) and Horror Express (1972). Born in Belgravia, London, in 1922 to a military father and an aristocratic mother, Lees film career started in 1947 with a role in the gothic romance Corridor of Mirrors. [125], In 2012, Lee marked his fifth and final collaboration with Tim Burton, by appearing in Burton's film adaptation of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, in the small role of a New England fishing captain.[126][127]. They gave me nothing to do! [166] Lee and his wife Birgit were listed among the fifty best-dressed over 50s by The Guardian in March 2013. We'll miss you. [159], Lee was introduced to Danish painter and former model Birgit "Gitte" Krncke by a Danish friend in 1960. Lee was inspired to record the latter songs because, "as far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Christopher Lee filmography - Wikipedia [1] His autopsy report listed that the probable combined effect of cocaine, propoxyphene, and diazepam had caused his death. [1] In a long career which spanned over 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimately playing the role nine times. [101], Lee considered his best performance to be in this period, when he played Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998). Check out the death cause, death date, and more facts about the circumstances surrounding movie actor Christopher Lee's death. Shaffer and Lee paid Pinner 15,000 (equivalent to US$225,561 in 2021) for the rights to the novel, and Schaffer set to work on the screenplay. ""[72] Lee played a leading role in the German film The Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962), speaking German, which he had learned during his education in Switzerland. The last project which united them in person was a documentary, Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994), which they jointly narrated, two months before Cushing's death. "[152] He explained: "It's light-hearted, joyful and fun At my age, the most important thing for me is to keep active by doing things that I truly enjoy. [180] In 1994, for his influence on the horror genre, he received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. Here's Who Inherited Christopher Lee's Money After He Died Lee enthusiastically accepted, but by the time Fleming told the producers, they had already chosen Joseph Wiseman for the role. And when Id say no hed say, Think of all the people youre putting out of work! Now that was truly disgraceful emotional blackmail, really. [74] It was the first film to co-star Lee and Cushing, who ultimately appeared together in over twenty films and became close friends. Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93 - The Guardian Lee, who died on 7 June in a London hospital aged 93, has been widely celebrated as a cinematic icon but the actor - who spoke several languages - was also a member of the SAS during the . [27] He worked as an office clerk for United States Lines, taking care of the mail and running errands. The medical officer hesitantly diagnosed a failure of his optic nerve, and he was told he would never be allowed to fly again. [31][33][34] Lee returned to work at United States Lines and found his work more satisfying, feeling that he was contributing. [113], Lee reprised his role as Saruman in the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. His younger brother Christopher Lee died on December 30, the filmmaker confirmed on Instagram. He was a fascinating person. In 2011, he returned to Hammer with a role in the Hilary Swank thriller The Resident, although he generally tried to avoid the horror genre in later years. [138] In 2007, he voiced the transcript of The Children of Hrin by J. R. R. Tolkien for the audiobook version of the novel. On October 10, 2004, the actor Christopher Reeve, who became famous for his starring role in four Superman films, dies from heart failure at the age of 52 at a hospital near his home in . [59] After the battle, the squadron moved to airfields just outside Rome, and Lee visited the city, where he met his mother's cousin, Nicol Carandini, who had fought in the Italian resistance movement. "[73], In this early period, he made an uncredited appearance in Laurence Olivier's film version of Hamlet (1948), as a spear carrier (his later co-star and close friend Peter Cushing played Osric). The couple had been married for more than 50 years and had one daughter, Christina. [17] His poor maths skills meant that he was placed eleventh, and thus missed out on being a King's Scholar by one place. He described Michael Howard as "the ideal person to lead the party" in 2003,[170] and also supported William Hague and David Cameron. A few years later, he appeared in Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. Lee died in London of undisclosed causes, according to an official with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with. Johnson, Tom (2009). Prosecutors argued that Lee, now 27, planned Corwin's death and lured her into a trap. [142], With his operatic[143] bass voice, Lee sang on The Wicker Man soundtrack, performing Paul Giovanni's composition, "The Tinker of Rye. I pleaded with Hammer to let me use some of the lines that Bram Stoker had written. After two weeks in Finland, they returned home. [44], After "killing time" at RAF Kasfareet near the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal Zone in 1942, he resumed intelligence work in the city of Ismalia. 'Very funny,' I said. Doing a scene with him and having him peering down at you, screaming into your face, all you can think of is 'My God, that's Dracula! In 1978, Lee surprised many people with his willingness to go along with a joke, appearing as guest host on NBC's Saturday Night Live. A fter it emerged Thursday that British character actor Christopher Lee had died, fellow actors and other noted people took to Twitter to mourn the passing of the actor . He had an elder sister, Xandra Carandini Lee (19172002). The actor never retired from acting and he still has one film yet to be released, the fantasy film Angels in Notting Hill, where he plays a godly figure who looks after the universe. [41] He was moved around to different flying stations before being posted to Southern Rhodesia's capital, Salisbury, in December 1941. His wife delayed the public announcement until 11 June, informing her family of the death before releasing the news to the press. [72] Steven Spielberg, who was in the audience for that show, cast him in 1941 (1979). He conceded that he was now too old, and that his physical limitations prevented him from being considered. In an AMC documentary on Halloween (1978), John Carpenter states that he offered the role of Samuel Loomis to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, before Donald Pleasence took the role. It was the first and last film he produced, as he did not enjoy the process. Critic Leonard Maltin described it as "well-made but lacking punch". [56] During most of the Battle of Monte Cassino he was attached to the Gurkhas of the 8th Indian Infantry Division. I had to wear a crimson dinner jacket. Quotes By Christopher Lee Actors Height: 6'5" (196 cm ), 6'5" Males Died on: June 7, 2015 place of death: Chelsea, London, England City: London, England Cause of Death: Respiratory Problems Recommended Lists: British Celebrities British Men Tall Celebrities Tall Male Celebrities Gemini Actors Childhood & Early Life [82] Lee introduced a dark, brooding sexuality to the character, with Tim Stanley stating, "Lee's sensuality was subversive in that it hinted that women might quite like having their neck chewed on by a stud.