Christopher Frank Carandini Lee

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was a famous English actor and singer. He was best known for his work in horror films produced by Hammer Studios, where he often played villains such as Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and the Mummy. He also appeared in many other film genres and franchises, such as James Bond, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Wicker Man. He had a distinctive deep voice and a towering height of 6 ft 5 in (196 cm), which made him an imposing figure on screen. Lee was born on 27 May 1922 in Belgravia, London, to a British Army officer and an Italian noblewoman. He had a multilingual and multicultural upbringing, and traced his ancestry to Charlemagne and the Borgias. He attended several prestigious schools, including Eton College and Wellington College. He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War as an intelligence officer and a liaison for the Special Operations Executive. He witnessed many horrors and atrocities during the war, which later influenced his acting career. After the war, Lee pursued his interest in acting and joined the Rank Organisation, where he received training and appeared in several minor roles. His breakthrough came in 1957, when he was cast as the Creature in The Curse of Frankenstein by Hammer Films. This marked the beginning of his long association with the studio and his frequent collaboration with his friend and co-star Peter Cushing. The following year, he played Count Dracula for the first time in Horror of Dracula, a role that he reprised in seven more films for Hammer. He also portrayed other iconic characters for the studio, such as Sir Henry Baskerville in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Kharis the Mummy in The Mummy (1959), and Rasputin in Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966). Lee’s career spanned over six decades and more than 250 films. He worked with many renowned directors, such as Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, George Lucas, and Peter Jackson. He played memorable villains, such as Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), and Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973). He also played heroic roles, such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Jinnah (1998), which he considered his best performance, King Haggard in The Last Unicorn (1982), and Sherlock Holmes in several films and TV series. Lee was also a talented singer and musician. He had a passion for opera and classical music, and recorded several albums and singles. He also ventured into heavy metal music later in his life, collaborating with bands such as Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar. He released two concept albums based on the life of Charlemagne: Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010) and Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (2013). He was honoured with the “Spirit of Metal” award at the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards ceremony. Lee was married to Danish model Birgit “Gitte” Krøncke from 1961 until his death. They had one daughter, Christina Erika Lee, born in 1963. Lee was a devout Anglo-Catholic and a supporter of the Conservative Party. He was also an avid reader, a world traveller, a golf player, and a collector of occult books. He spoke six languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and Swedish. Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, and received many other honours and awards, such as the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011, the BFI Fellowship in 2013, and the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight in 2003. He was widely regarded as a legend of cinema and a cultural icon. He died on 7 June 2015 at the age of 93 after being admitted to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for respiratory problems and heart failure. His wife delayed the public announcement until four days later, after informing their family and friends. His ashes were scattered in Surrey Hills, England, where he had lived for many years.