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Sir Christopher Lee
CBE CStJ
Lee at the Berlin International Film Festival, February 2013
Born
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee

(1922-05-27) 27 May 1922 (age 102)
Belgravia, London, England, United Kingdom
Alma materWellington College
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, author
Years active1946–present
SpouseBirgit Krøncke (1961–present)
Children1
Military career
Allegiance Finland
 United Kingdom
Service / branchFinnish Army (December 1939)
British Home Guard (1940)
 Royal Air Force (1941–1946)
Years of service1939–1946
RankFlight Lieutenant
Battles / warsWinter War
World War II (North African Campaign, Allied invasion of Italy, Battle of Monte Cassino)
Websitechristopherleeweb.com

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ, (born 27 May 1922) is an English actor, singer and author. Lee initially portrayed villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a string of popular Hammer Horror films. His other notable roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014), and Count Dooku in the final two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy (2002 and 2005).

He was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013.[1][2][3] Lee considers his best performance to be that of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998), and his best film to be the British horror film The Wicker Man (1973).[4]

Always noted as an actor for his deep, strong voice, he has, more recently, also been known for using his singing ability, recording various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 and the symphonic metal album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 after having worked with several metal bands since 2005. The heavy metal follow-up titled Charlemagne: The Omens of Death was released on 27 May 2013.[5][6] He was honoured with the "Spirit of Metal" award in the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden God awards ceremony.

Christopher Lee is one of the highest grossing actors of all time, having grossed $8,321,486,066 worldwide.

1980s

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In 1980, he played an American for the first time in the comedy Serial - hard-headed businessman Luckman, who moonlights as the leader of a group of gay Hell's Angels. Lee thought it was hilarious and performed almost all of his own motorcycle stunts.[7]

While in America, Lee made two TV pilots: Once Upon a Spy in 1980 with Ted Danson and Mary Louise Weller; and Massarati and the Brain in 1982 with Peter Billingsley, Christopher Hewett and Markie Post. He would not have been in further episodes for either, had they gone to series.[8]

In 1981, he appeared in the Italian political thriller The Salamander, based on the novel of the same name by Morris West. Based on the attempted coup d'état by the neo-fascist Prince Junio Valerio Borghese, the film has never been released in Italy, despite the names of the characters being changed. Lee, for instance, plays Prince Borghese, in the film called Prince Baldasar.[9]

In 1982, Lee starred as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story, which Lee considered "unforgivably dull".[8] He also appeared in The Return of Captain Invincible, playing a fascist who plans to rid America (and afterwards, the world) of all non-whites.[7] Lee sings on two tracks in the film ("Name Your Poison" and "Mister Midnight"), written by Richard O'Brien (who had written The Rocky Horror Picture Show seven years previously) and Richard Hartley.

In 1984, he starred in a five-hour three-part television miniseries based on the epic Indian history novel The Far Pavilions.[10] An HBO/Goldcrest production, Lee played Kaka-ji Rao in what was HBO's first mini series.[11] In the same year, he was to star in The Bengal Lancers,[12] but it ran out of money and production was stopped,[13][14] and he appeared alongside Frank Zappa, in one of Zappa's few acting roles, in the TV series Faerie Tale Theatre. Lee played King Vladimir V and Zappa his "malevolent hunchback retainer" in the episode "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers".[15]

In 1985, he appeared alongside Reb Brown and Sybil Danning in Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch.[16]

By 1985, Lee and his wife were tired of the "cultural vacuum" that was Los Angeles, and with their daughter at boarding school in England and Lee satisfied that he proved he could survive without being typecast, they decided to return to London.[17] One of the last films he made in America before returning home was the teen comedy Jocks.[18] Just before he left, his doctor found he had an irregular heartbeat and diagnosed a fluttering mitral valve. In June 1985, shortly after returning to London, he had surgery to repair it.[19] His first role after the surgery was in the Channel 4 TV film The Disputation, playing James I of Aragon.[20] When it aired, it was accidentally marked as a repeat and the only critics who picked up on the error were The Times and Time Out, who both printed glowing reviews.[20]

In 1987, Lee starred in the Swedish/Russian fantasy film Mio in the Land of Faraway.[21]

In 1989, he played one of the members of the Reform Club in the miniseries Around the World in 80 Days (though they were unable to use the Reform Club and the scenes were instead shot in the Travellers Club).[22] He also returned to the role of Comte de Rochefort in The Return of the Musketeers, loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' novel Twenty Years After. Lee was happy to find out that he did not have to duel anyone in the film, but was not happy with the experience, or the final film. The producers tried to shoot a twelve-week film in eight weeks and the death of Roy Kinnear in a riding accident "spread such a pall of misery that it was surprising the film was ever finished and, in truth, the world would have lost nothing much if it hadn't been."[23] At the same time, he was filming a small part in the Kim Cattrall and Robert Hays comedy-drama Honeymoon Academy.[24] He then travelled to Amsterdam to film Murder Story, before returning to America to star as Blind Pew in Treasure Island.[25] He also travelled to Paris to film La Révolution française to mark the bicentennial anniversary of the French Revolution. His cousin, French film producer Alexandre Mnouchkine asked him to play the role of Charles-Henri Sanson, the public executioner. Lee joked that Mnouchkine couldn't be accused of nepotism, having never cast him in anything before, despite their having been relatives for forty-two years.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Hammer Horror star Lee knighted". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2012
  2. ^ "Christopher Lee to receive Bafta Fellowship". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2012
  3. ^ "Depp surprises Sir Christopher Lee with film award". BBC. Retrieved 14 December 2013
  4. ^ "The Total Film Interview – Christopher Lee". Total Film. 1 May 2005. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  5. ^ Sir Christopher Lee releases second heavy metal album
  6. ^ Farrell, John (28 May 2012). "Christopher Lee Celebrates 90th Birthday By Recording Heavy Metal". Forbes. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  7. ^ a b Lee 2003, p. 260.
  8. ^ a b Lee 2003, p. 259.
  9. ^ Lee 2003, p. 284.
  10. ^ Lee 2003, p. 262.
  11. ^ Tsering, Lisa (17 July 2003). "Victor Banerjee to star in London musical". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
  12. ^ http://www.agencesartistiques.com/Fiche-Artiste/30174-christopher-lee.html
  13. ^ Lee 2003, p. 264.
  14. ^ http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/british-films-chat/115827-unmade-british-films-3.html
  15. ^ Lee 2003, p. 288.
  16. ^ Lee 2003, p. 288-289.
  17. ^ Lee 2003, p. 269-272.
  18. ^ Lee 2003, p. 271.
  19. ^ Lee 2003, p. 273-275.
  20. ^ a b Lee 2003, p. 275.
  21. ^ Lee 2003, p. 289-290.
  22. ^ Lee 2003, p. 279.
  23. ^ Lee 2003, p. 277-278.
  24. ^ Lee 2003, p. 278.
  25. ^ Lee 2003, p. 278-279.
  26. ^ Lee 2003, p. 280.

Bibliography

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  • Christopher Lee's Treasury of Terror, edited by Russ Jones, illustrated by Mort Drucker & others, Pyramid Books, 1966
  • Christopher Lee's New Chamber of Horrors, Souvenir Press, 1974
  • Christopher Lee's Archives of Terror, Warner Books, Volume I, 1975; Volume 2, 1976
  • Tall, Dark and Gruesome (autobiography), W.H. Allen, 1977 and 1999
  • The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films, by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes, Titan Books, 1997 and 2007 – Foreword by Christopher Lee
  • Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History by Jonathan Rigby, Reynolds & Hearn, 2001 and 2003
  • The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare by Chris Smith, HarperCollins, 2003 – Foreword by Christopher Lee
  • Lee, Christopher (2003) [1977]. Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee. London: Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 0-75285-770-3.
  • Dans les griffes de la Hammer by Nicolas Stanzick, Le Bord de l'eau Editions, Paris, 2010.
  • Sir Christopher Lee by Laurent Aknin, Nouveau Monde Éditions, Paris, 2011.
  • Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares, by John Landis, DK Publishing, 2011 – Interview with Christopher Lee
  • Le Seigneur du désordre (autobiography, a French version of Lord of Misrule), Christopher Lee, Camion Blanc (Coll. "Camion Noir"), 2013.
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