Friday 12 June 2015

'Lord of the Rings' actor Christopher Lee dies at 93


Sir Christopher Lee, best known for playing Count Dracula, and for his roles as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings franchise and Count Dooku in two Star Wars prequels, has died in London. He was 93.
The actor died on Sunday morning at a central London hospital.
An official for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London confirmed to the Associated Press on Thursday that a death certificate was issued for Lee on June 8. She spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with the policies of the borough.
Lee, who played roles as diverse as Dr. Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man and villain Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun had a TV and film career that stretched back to the 1940s.
His career on the screen began in 1946 with a role in BBC production Kaleidoscope, before he made his film debut in 1948 in the drama Corridor of Mirrors.
Lee appeared in more than 250 movies, but for many was forever known as the vampire Count Dracula in a slew of Hammer Horror movies — the gory, gothic thrillers churned out by the British studio in the 1950s and 1960s that became hugely popular.
He became Sir Christopher Lee when he was knighted in October 2009, receiving the honour from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
Lee also appeared in several films by Tim Burton, includingSleepy Hollow, and was proud of his turn as Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in Jinnah.
Lee was born in London on May 27, 1922. His father was a British army officer who had served in the Boer War, his mother was Contessa Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano, an Edwardian beauty of Italian descent. His parents separated when he was young, and his mother later remarried Harcourt Rose, the uncle of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
He attended Wellington College, an elite boarding school, and joined the Royal Air Force during World War II. Poor eyesight prevented him becoming a pilot, and he served as an intelligence officer in North Africa and Italy.
A year ago, Lee, who was also a classically trained singer, announced he was releasing a metal album to commemorate his 92nd birthday. Metal Knight featured a metal version of Frank Sinatra's classic My Way. Blathnaid Healy

1 comment:

  1. Obviously lived life to the fullest. May he RIP!

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