Christopher Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christopher Lee
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Lee at the 2013 Berlinale
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| Born |
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee
27 May 1922 |
| Died | 7 June 2015 (aged 93) Chelsea, London, England
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| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1948–2015 |
| Spouse(s) |
Birgit Krøncke
(m. 1961) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
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| Service/ |
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| Years of service | 1939–1946 |
| Rank | Flight lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | |
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was a famous English actor and singer. He had a very long career, acting for over 60 years! He was known for playing many villains. He played Count Dracula nine times, including in seven films by Hammer Horror.
Some of his other well-known roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). He also played Count Dooku in the Star Wars films (2002–2008). Later, he became famous as Saruman in both The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit film trilogies (2012–2014).
Christopher Lee was honored as a knight in 2009 for his work in acting and charity. He also received special awards like the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and the BFI Fellowship in 2013. He felt that three films helped him become famous: A Tale of Two Cities (1958), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), and Dracula (1958). He believed his best acting was as Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the film Jinnah (1998). He also loved the British film The Wicker Man (1973). He often acted alongside his good friend Peter Cushing in horror movies. Later in his career, he worked with director Tim Burton in five films.
Before becoming an actor, Lee served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He was an intelligence officer. He retired from the RAF in 1946 as a flight lieutenant.
Lee was known for his deep, strong voice. He also sang, recording opera and other music. In 2010, he released a symphonic metal album called Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross. He even released a heavy metal follow-up album, Charlemagne: The Omens of Death, in 2013 on his 91st birthday. He received an award called the "Spirit of Hammer" in 2010 for his contributions to metal music.
Contents
- Christopher Lee's Early Life and Family
- Christopher Lee's Military Service
- Christopher Lee's Acting Career Begins
- Becoming a Horror Icon: Hammer Films
- Other Notable Roles and Moving to Hollywood
- Later Career: Lord of the Rings and Star Wars
- Christopher Lee's Voice Work
- Christopher Lee's Music Career
- Christopher Lee's Personal Life
- Christopher Lee's Passing and Legacy
- Christopher Lee's Works
- Images for kids
- See also
Christopher Lee's Early Life and Family
Christopher Lee was born in Belgravia, London, on 27 May 1922. His father, Geoffrey Trollope Lee, was a soldier, and his mother, Countess Estelle Marie, was a beautiful socialite. His mother's great-grandmother, Marie Carandini, was a famous opera singer. Christopher also had an older sister named Xandra.
When Christopher was four, his parents separated, and they divorced two years later. His mother took him and his sister to Switzerland. There, he acted in his first play, playing Rumpelstiltskin. They later returned to London. His mother then married Harcourt George St-Croix Rose, a banker. This made Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books, Christopher Lee's step-cousin. The family lived next door to actor Eric Maturin. One night, Christopher met Prince Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, who were famous for assassinating Grigori Rasputin. Years later, Lee would play Rasputin in a film.
When he was nine, Christopher went to Summer Fields School in Oxford. He continued acting in school plays. He later attended Wellington College, where he studied Ancient Greek and Latin. He was good at sports like racquets and fencing. At 17, his stepfather lost all his money, so Christopher had to find a job. He worked as an office clerk. Before returning to London, he briefly visited Paris and saw the last public execution by guillotine in France.
Christopher Lee's Military Service
When World War II began in 1939, Christopher Lee volunteered to fight for the Finnish Army against the Soviet Union in the Winter War. He and other British volunteers were kept away from the main fighting. After two weeks, they returned home. Lee later said he was glad he didn't go to the front lines because he probably wouldn't have survived.
In 1940, he joined the Home Guard in London. After his father passed away in 1941, Lee decided to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). He trained in England and then in South Africa. However, he had vision problems and was told he could no longer fly. This made him very sad. He then joined RAF Intelligence.
He worked in intelligence in the Suez Canal Zone in 1942. He was attached to No. 260 Squadron RAF as an intelligence officer. During the North African Campaign, his squadron supported ground forces and bombed targets. Lee was expected to know everything about the enemy. He was almost killed when his airfield was bombed. He also got malaria six times.
After the Allied invasion of Italy, Lee was seconded to the Army and worked with the Gurkhas during the Battle of Monte Cassino. He was nearly killed again when a plane crashed near him. In November 1944, he was promoted to flight lieutenant. For the last few months of his service, Lee, who spoke many languages, helped track down Nazi war criminals. He retired from the RAF in 1946.
Christopher Lee's Acting Career Begins
After the war, in 1946, Christopher Lee was offered his old office job back, but he wanted to try something new. His cousin, who was the Italian Ambassador to Britain, suggested he become an actor. Lee liked the idea, and after convincing his mother, he met a film producer named Filippo Del Giudice. Lee was signed to a seven-year contract.
He made his first film appearance in 1947 in Corridor of Mirrors. He had only one line. He also appeared without credit in Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948) and Quo Vadis (1951), where he was injured while playing a chariot driver.
His career really started to take off in 1952 when he was cast in many films made by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.. He said this was excellent training. He appeared in almost 30 films over the next ten years, often playing action characters.
Becoming a Horror Icon: Hammer Films
Christopher Lee's first film for Hammer was The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). He played Frankenstein's monster, and Peter Cushing played Baron Victor Frankenstein. This was the first time Lee and Cushing acted together; they became close friends and appeared in over twenty films.
Soon after, Lee played Count Dracula for the first time in Dracula (1958). This film made his image of the fanged vampire famous around the world. Empire magazine called his Dracula the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character ever. CNN listed him as third in their top 10 British villains.
He returned to play Dracula in several more Hammer films, including Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1965). In this film, Dracula had no lines, only hisses! Lee said he refused to speak the bad dialogue he was given. He played Dracula in films like Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) and Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969). He felt these films didn't give him much to do. He even tried to use lines from the original Bram Stoker book.
Lee played Dracula for Hammer two more times in the early 1970s: Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). He didn't like the title of the last one, calling it "fatuous" (silly). The Satanic Rites of Dracula was his last time playing Dracula for Hammer. He felt he had played the role too many times and the films were getting worse.
In total, Christopher Lee played Dracula ten times for different companies. He also played Rasputin in Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966) and Sir Henry Baskerville in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). He even played Sherlock Holmes himself in Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962). Later, he played Sherlock's smarter brother, Mycroft Holmes, in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). Lee felt this role helped him stop being typecast as just a horror actor.
Other Notable Roles and Moving to Hollywood
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Christopher Lee also starred in horror films for other companies. He played the villain Fu Manchu in a series of films from 1965 to 1969. His personal favorite film, which he considered his best, was The Wicker Man (1973). In this movie, he played Lord Summerisle. Lee was so eager to make this film that he worked for free because the budget was small. He wanted to play different kinds of roles.
Lee also made films in Europe. He was a producer for the horror film Nothing But the Night (1972), which he also starred in. He didn't enjoy producing, so it was his only time doing it.
He played the Comte de Rochefort in The Three Musketeers (1973), where he injured his knee. Lee's step-cousin, Ian Fleming, had offered him a role in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962), but the part was already cast. Lee finally got to play a Bond villain, Francisco Scaramanga, in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). He described Scaramanga as "charming, elegant, amusing, lethal."
In 1977, Lee moved from the UK to the US. He was worried about being stuck playing only horror roles. His first American film was Airport '77 (1977). He also appeared in the Disney film Return from Witch Mountain (1978) with Bette Davis. He turned down a role in the comedy Airplane! (1980), which he later called "a big mistake."
He played the mad scientist Dr. Catheter in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). In a fun nod to his Dracula roles, when a Bat Gremlin transforms, Dracula music plays! Lee played Sherlock Holmes again in two TV films in the early 1990s.
Lee and his friend Peter Cushing appeared in many films together. They were even in separate Star Wars films: Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in the original, and Lee as Count Dooku decades later. Lee believed his best performance during this period was playing Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in the film Jinnah (1998).
Later Career: Lord of the Rings and Star Wars
Christopher Lee had many roles on television. He played Flay in the BBC miniseries Gormenghast (2000). He also played Lucas de Beaumanoir, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, in Ivanhoe (1997).
A huge part of his later career was playing Saruman in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Lee had always wanted to play Gandalf, but he knew he was too old. Saruman's role didn't require horse riding or much fighting. Lee was the only person involved in the film trilogy who had actually met J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of the books. He read The Lord of the Rings novels every year. His scene in the final film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, was cut from the cinema version but put back in the extended edition.
The Lord of the Rings helped restart his career. He then played the villainous Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). He did most of his own sword fighting! In 2005, he played Dr. Wonka, the father of Willy Wonka, in Tim Burton's film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In 2009, Lee starred in the drama Glorious 39 and the war film Triage. In 2010, he voiced the Jabberwock in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. He respected Johnny Depp, calling him "inventive and [having] enormous versatility."
In 2011, he appeared in a Hammer film again, The Resident, after 35 years. He also appeared in the critically praised film Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese.
Lee played Saruman again for The Hobbit prequel films. He wanted to show how Saruman became evil, but he was too old to travel to New Zealand. So, the filming was adjusted for him to act from London. In 2012, he worked with Tim Burton for the fifth and final time in Dark Shadows, playing a small role as a fishing captain.
In 2013, he narrated a documentary called Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics. In 2014, he appeared in a BBC documentary about Sherlock Holmes. He also read an excerpt from a Sherlock Holmes story online. His very last performance was in the independent film Angels in Notting Hill, which premiered in 2016 after his death.
Christopher Lee's Voice Work
Christopher Lee was known for his amazing voice and used it in many films and video games. He spoke fluent English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German, and was good at Swedish, Russian, and Greek.
He voiced Thor in the German version of the animated film Valhalla (1986). He was also King Haggard in The Last Unicorn (1982). He voiced Death in animated versions of Terry Pratchett's books. He was the voice of Ansem the Wise in the video game Kingdom Hearts II.
Lee also voiced Saruman in the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. He narrated and sang for the musical group The Tolkien Ensemble's album At Dawn in Rivendell (2003). In 2007, he narrated the audiobook for The Children of Húrin by J. R. R. Tolkien. He voiced Pastor Galswells in The Corpse Bride (2005) and narrated The Nightmare Before Christmas poem. He reprised his role as Count Dooku in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). He even voiced Francisco Scaramanga in the video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. In 2013, he voiced a character in a BBC Radio 4 play called Neverwhere. In 2014, at 91 years old, he became the oldest video game narrator for Lego The Hobbit, earning him a spot in the Guinness World Records.
Christopher Lee's Music Career
With his deep, operatic bass voice, Christopher Lee sang on The Wicker Man soundtrack. He also sang the closing song for the horror film Funny Man (1994).
He became involved with heavy metal music by singing with the band Rhapsody of Fire. He was a narrator and backing vocalist on several of their albums. He also worked with the band Manowar.
In 2013, his song "Jingle Hell" reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This made him the second oldest living performer to enter the music charts. Later, it rose to number 18, making him the oldest person to have a top 20 hit!
In May 2014, he released an EP (a short album) called Metal Knight to celebrate his 92nd birthday. It included covers of songs like "My Way" and "The Impossible Dream". He said he was inspired by Don Quixote, calling him "the most metal fictional character." In December 2014, he released another Christmas EP, "Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing." He said he wanted to stay active and share his joy with fans.
His final musical appearance was as a narrator on the debut album by Hollywood Vampires, a supergroup with Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper. After his death, the band Rhapsody of Fire included a posthumous narration by Lee on their 2019 album, The Eighth Mountain.
Christopher Lee's Personal Life
Christopher Lee was known for being very tall, standing at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 meters). He was an Anglo-Catholic Christian and supported the Conservative Party in politics. He was also interested in the occult, a topic he learned about from his friend Dennis Wheatley.
In 1960, Lee met Birgit "Gitte" Krøncke, a Danish painter and former model. They got married on 17 March 1961. They had one daughter, Christina Erika Carandini Lee, born in 1963. Christopher Lee was also the uncle of the British actress Harriet Walter. Both Christopher and his daughter Christina provided vocals on a Rhapsody of Fire album.
Lee moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s because he was tired of the film roles he was offered in Britain. He felt that in Hollywood, he was seen as an actor, not just a "horror star." He later moved back to England and lived with his family in London until he passed away.
Christopher Lee's Passing and Legacy
Christopher Lee passed away at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on 7 June 2015. He was 93 years old and had been admitted for breathing and heart problems. His wife waited a few days to announce his death publicly, telling her family first.
After his death, many fans, friends, actors, and directors shared their tributes. The Prime Minister David Cameron called Lee a "titan of the golden age of cinema." He was honored at the 88th Academy Awards in 2016 in the annual "In Memoriam" section.
Lee received many honors throughout his life. In 1974, he was featured on the BBC show This Is Your Life. In 1994, he received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement for his impact on the horror genre. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2001 for his services to drama. In 2009, he was made a Knight Bachelor for his work in drama and charity. The French government also honored him in 2011.
In 2005, a USA Today poll named Lee the 'most marketable star in the world'. In 2010, he was recognized as the most "connected" person in the film business on IMDb. In 2008, he was featured as Count Dracula on a special UK postage stamp. He received the Spirit of Hammer award in 2010 for his contributions to metal music. He also received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and the BFI Fellowship in 2013.
In 2011, he was honored by University College Dublin and received the Bram Stoker Gold Medal.
Christopher Lee's Works
Filmography
Audiobooks
Christopher Lee narrated many audiobooks, including:
- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- The Children of Húrin by J. R. R. Tolkien
- Several Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Discography
Albums
- Christopher Lee Sings Devils, Rogues & Other Villains (1998)
- Revelation (2006)
- Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010)
- Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (2013)
EPs
- A Heavy Metal Christmas (2012)
- A Heavy Metal Christmas Too (2013)
- Metal Knight (2014)
Singles
- "Jingle Hell" (2013)
- "Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing" (2014)
Guest appearances
- The Wicker Man soundtrack (1973)
- Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret (2004) with Rhapsody of Fire
- The Corpse Bride (2005) (voice)
- Hollywood Vampires (2015) with Hollywood Vampires
Images for kids
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Lee with his wife, Birgit Krøncke, March 2009
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Lee at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012
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See also
In Spanish: Christopher Lee para niños
