Christopher Lee

Lore & Background

Lee gained fame for portraying Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, beginning with Dracula (1958). He frequently appeared opposite his friend Peter Cushing in horror films, including Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Mummy (1959). His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in two Star Wars films (2002–2005), and Saruman in both The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014). He had roles in the Tim Burton films Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Dark Shadows (2012). His other notable films include A Tale of Two Cities (1958), Castle of the Living Dead (1964), The Wicker Man (1973), The Return of Captain Invincible (1983), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Jinnah (1998), Glorious 39 (2009), and Hugo (2011). Lee was also a classically trained singer with a passion for heavy metal. He recorded several albums, including the symphonic-metal concept albums Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010) and Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (2013), portraying the title character of Charlemagne. These projects featured Lee providing spoken word, singing, and dramatic narration.

Reader's Guide

Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was born on 27 May 1922 in Belgravia, London, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee and his wife Countess Estelle Marie. Lee's parents separated when he was four and divorced two years later. He attended Miss Fisher's Academy in Territet, then Wagner's private school in Queen's Gate. He was later sent to Summer Fields School, a preparatory school in Oxford, and then attended Wellington College. During the Second World War, Lee enrolled in a military academy and volunteered to fight for the Finnish Army against the Soviet Union during the Winter War. After returning, he joined the Home Guard, then volunteered for the Royal Air Force. He was posted to RAF Uxbridge for training, then to the Initial Training Wing at Paignton. After passing exams, he travelled to South Africa and then to Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia for training. Due to a failure of his optic nerve, he was told he would never fly again. He applied to join RAF Intelligence, was seconded into the British South Africa Police, and posted as a warder at Salisbury Prison. He was later commissioned at the end of January 1943 and attached to No. 260 Squadron RAF as an intelligence officer, serving in the North African Campaign.

Did You Know?

• Lee witnessed Eugen Weidmann's execution by guillotine in Paris, the last public execution performed in France.
• Lee's step-uncle was Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels.
• Lee played the role of Rumpelstiltskin in his first school play at Miss Fisher's Academy.
• Lee was a classically trained singer who recorded heavy metal albums.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"He looked like a miniature Edward G. Robinson, and had the vigour of six, with the promiscuity of six for that matter, as if he wanted to make the most of every second of a life that would not be very long." — Christopher Lee "Being half the man Christopher Lee is, is more than I could ever hope for. He was a true gentleman, in an era that no longer values gentlemen." — Christopher Lee