Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer.[1] In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with tremendous screen presence and a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horror and franchise films. Lee wasknighted for services to drama and charity in June 2009 byKing Charles III (when he was thePrince of Wales), received theBAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received theBFI Fellowship in 2013.
In addition to his prolific film career, Lee was a classically trained singer with a passion for heavy metal. He recorded several albums, including the symphonic metal concept albumsCharlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010) andCharlemagne: The Omens of Death (2013), where he portrayed the title character of Charlemagne. These projects, which included his spoken word, singing, and dramatic narration, were deeply personal artistic endeavours that showcased his distinctive vocal range.
Lee's parents separated when he was four and divorced two years later.[9] During this time, his mother took his sister and him toWengen in Switzerland.[10] After enrolling in Miss Fisher's Academy inTerritet, he played his first role, asRumpelstiltskin.[11] They then returned to London, where Lee attended Wagner's private school inQueen's Gate, and his mother married Harcourt George St-Croix Rose, a banker and uncle ofIan Fleming.[12] Fleming, author of theJames Bond novels, thus became Lee's step-cousin. The family moved toFulham, living next door to the actorEric Maturin.[13] One night, he was introduced toPrince Yusupov andGrand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, the assassins ofGrigori Rasputin, whom Lee was to play many years later.[14]
When Lee was nine, he was sent toSummer Fields School, a preparatory school in Oxford, some of whose pupils later attendedEton College.[15] He continued acting in school plays, though "the laurels deservedly went toPatrick Macnee."[16] Lee applied for a scholarship to Eton, where his interview was in the presence of theghost story authorM.R. James.[17] His poor mathematics skills meant that he was placed eleventh, and thus missed out on being aKing's Scholar by one place. His step-father was not prepared to pay the higher fees that being anOppidan Scholar meant,[17] so instead he attendedWellington College, where he won scholarships in theclassics, studyingAncient Greek andLatin.[18] Aside from a "tiny part" in a school play, he did not act while at Wellington.[19] He was a "passable"racquets player and fencer and a competent cricketer but did not do well at the other sports played: hockey, football, rugby and boxing.[20] He disliked the parades and weapons training and would always "play dead" as soon as possible during mock battles.[21] Lee was frequentlybeaten at school, including once at Wellington for "being beaten too often," though he accepted them as "logical and therefore acceptable" punishments for knowingly breaking the rules.[22] At age 17, and with one year left at Wellington, the summer term of 1939 was his last.[4] His step-father had accrued gambling debts of £25,000, equivalent to £2,000,000 in 2023.[23]
His mother separated from Rose and Lee had to get a job; his sister was already working as a secretary for the Church of England Pensions Board.[24] With most employers on or preparing to go on summer holidays, there were no immediate opportunities for Lee, who was sent to theFrench Riviera, where his sister was on holiday with friends.[24] On his way there he stopped briefly in Paris, where he stayed with the journalistWebb Miller, a friend of Rose, and witnessedEugen Weidmann's execution byguillotine – the last public execution performed in France.[25] Arriving inMenton, he stayed with the Russian Mazirov family, living among exiledprincely families.[26] It was arranged that he should remain in Menton after his sister had returned home, but with Europe on thebrink of war, he returned to London instead.[27] He worked as an office clerk forUnited States Lines, taking care of the mail and running errands.[28][29]
Almost all of what is known of Lee’s military service is based on a chronology of events as set out in his autobiography. When theSecond World War broke out in 1939, Lee had enrolled in a military academy andvolunteered to fight for theFinnish Army against theSoviet Union during theWinter War.[30] He and other British volunteers were kept away from the fighting, but they were issued with winter gear and were posted on guard duty a safe distance from the border. After two weeks in Finland, they returned home.[31][32] In a later interview, Lee said he knew how to shoot but not how to ski and that he probably would not be alive if he had been allowed to go to the front line.[31][33][34] Lee returned to work at United States Lines and found his work more satisfying, feeling that he was contributing. In early 1940, he joinedBeecham's, at first as an office clerk, then as a switchboard operator.[35] When Beecham's moved out of London, he joined theHome Guard.[36] In the winter, his father fell ill withbilateral pneumonia and died on 12 March 1941. Realising that he had no inclination to follow his father into the Army, Lee decided to join up while he still had some choice of service, and volunteered for theRoyal Air Force.[37]
Lee reported toRAF Uxbridge for training and was then posted to the Initial Training Wing atPaignton.[38] After he had passed his exams inLiverpool, theBritish Commonwealth Air Training Plan meant that he travelled on theReina del Pacifico to South Africa, then to his posting at Hillside, atBulawayo inSouthern Rhodesia.[39] Training withde Havilland Tiger Moths, Lee took his penultimate training session before his first solo flight, during which he began to suffer from headaches and blurred vision. The medical officer hesitantly diagnosed a failure of hisoptic nerve, and he was told he would never be allowed to fly again.[40] Lee was devastated, and the death of a fellow trainee from his former school, Summer Fields, only made him more despondent. His appeals were fruitless, and he was left with nothing to do.[41] He was moved around to different flying stations before being posted to Southern Rhodesia's capital,Salisbury, in December 1941.[42] He then visited theMazowe Dam,Marandellas, theWankie Game Reserve and the ruins ofGreat Zimbabwe. Thinking he should "do something constructive for my keep", he applied to joinRAF Intelligence. His superiors praised his initiative, and he was seconded into theBritish South Africa Police and was posted as a warder at Salisbury Prison.[43] He was then promoted toleading aircraftman. Leaving South Africa, he sailed fromDurban toSuez on theSS Nieuw Amsterdam.[44]
After "killing time" at RAF Kasfareet near theGreat Bitter Lake in theSuez Canal Zone in 1942, he resumed intelligence work in the city ofIsmaïlia.[45] He was then attached toNo. 205 Group RAF before being commissioned at the end of January 1943,[46] and attached toNo. 260 Squadron RAF as an intelligence officer.[47] As theNorth African Campaign progressed, the squadron "leapfrogged" between Egyptian airstrips, fromRAF El Daba toMaaten Bagush and on toMersa Matruh; they lent air support to the ground forces and bombed strategic targets. Lee, "broadly speaking, was expected to know everything."[48] The Allied advance continued into Libya, throughTobruk andBenghazi to theMarble Arch (a triumphal arch built by Fascist Italy) and then throughEl Agheila,Khoms andTripoli, with the squadron averaging five missions a day.[49] As the advance continued into Tunisia, with theAxis forces digging themselves in at theMareth Line, Lee was almost killed when the squadron's airfield was bombed.[50] After theBattle of the Mareth Line, the squadron made their final base inKairouan; following the Axis surrender in North Africa in May 1943, the squadron moved toZuwarah in Libya in preparation for theAllied invasion of Sicily.[51] They then moved toMalta, and, after its capture by theBritish Eighth Army, the Sicilian town ofPachino, before making a permanent base in Agnone Bagni.[52] At the end of July 1943, Lee received his second promotion of the year, this time toflying officer.[53] After the Sicilian campaign was over, Lee came down with malaria for the sixth time in under a year, and was flown to a hospital inCarthage for treatment. When he returned, the squadron was restless, frustrated with a lack of news about theEastern Front and the Soviet Union in general, and with no mail from home and no alcohol. Unrest spread and threatened to turn into mutiny. Lee, by now an expert on Russia, talked them into resuming their duties, which much impressed his commanding officer.[54]
After theAllied invasion of Italy, the squadron was based inFoggia andTermoli during the winter of 1943, where Lee was then seconded to the Army during an officers' swap scheme.[55] During most of theBattle of Monte Cassino he was attached to theGurkhas of the8th Indian Infantry Division.[56] While spending some time on leave inNaples, Lee climbedMount Vesuvius, whicherupted three days later.[57] During the final assault on Monte Cassino, the squadron was based in San Angelo, and Lee was nearly killed when one of the planes crashed on takeoff, and he tripped over one of its live bombs.[58] After the battle, the squadron moved to airfields just outside Rome, and Lee visited the city, where he met his mother's cousin,Nicolò Carandini, who had fought in theItalian resistance movement.[59] In November 1944, Lee was promoted toflight lieutenant and left the squadron inJesi to take up a posting at Air Force HQ.[60] Lee took part in forward planning and liaison, in preparation for a potential assault into the rumoured GermanAlpine Fortress.[61] After the war ended, Lee was invited to go hunting near Vienna and was then billeted inPörtschach am Wörthersee.[62] For the final few months of his service, Lee, who spoke fluent French, Italian and German, among other languages, was seconded to theCentral Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects.[63] Here, he was tasked with helping to track down Nazi war criminals.[64] Of his time with the organisation, Lee said: "We were given dossiers of what they'd done and told to find them, interrogate them as much as we could and hand them over to the appropriate authority".[64] He completed his service with the RAF, in 1946.[63]
Lee said that during the war he was attached to special forces, but declined to give details.[65][66] Lee's stepfather served as a captain in theIntelligence Corps, but it is unlikely he had any influence over Lee's military career. Lee saw his stepfather for the last time on a bus in London in 1940, after he was divorced from Lee's mother, and Lee did not speak to him.[67]
Since his death, some have accused Lee of exaggerating and being intentionally misleading about his wartime service. The historian Gavin Mortimer stated that Lee "hammed up" details of his service, and that Lee "never exactly lied about his creditable wartime record, but he encouraged its embellishment".[68][69] Leanne Simpson of Bangor University stated that "Actor Christopher Lee famously encouraged the embellishment of his two-year military service during World War II. Many believed he served in a number of elite British military units, including the SAS, but in truth he had only been attached as a RAF liaison officer. Though Lee never hid this fact, he failed to clarify his role and allowed false assumptions to be circulated".[70]
Returning to London in 1946, Lee was offered his old job back at Beecham's with a significant raise, but he turned them down as "I couldn't think myself back into the office frame of mind." The Armed Forces were sending veterans with an education in the Classics to teach at universities, but Lee felt his Latin was too rusty and didn't care for the strict curfews.[71] During lunch with his mother's cousinNicolò Carandini, who had become the Italian Ambassador to Britain, Lee was detailing his war wounds when Carandini said, "Why don't you become an actor, Christopher?"[72] Lee liked the idea, and after assuaging his mother's protests by pointing to the successful Carandini performers in Australia (which included his great-grandmotherMarie Carandini, who had been an opera singer), he met Nicolò's friendFilippo Del Giudice, a lawyer-turned-film producer and head ofTwo Cities Films, part of theRank Organisation. Lee recalled that Giudice "looked me up and down" and "concluded that I was just what the industry had been looking for." He was sent to seeJosef Somlo for a contract:[73]
Initially, I was told [by Somlo] I was too tall to be an actor. That's a quite fatuous remark to make. It's like saying you're too short to play the piano. I thought, "Right, I'll show you..." At the beginning I didn't know anything about the technique of working in front of a camera, but during those 10 years, I did the one thing that's so vitally important today – I watched, I listened and I learned. So when the time came I was ready... Oddly enough, to play a character who said nothing [The Creature inThe Curse of Frankenstein].[74]
In this early period, he made an uncredited appearance inLaurence Olivier's film version ofHamlet (1948), as aspear carrier (his later co-star and close friendPeter Cushing playedOsric). A few years later, he appeared inCaptain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) as a Spanish captain. He was cast when the director asked him if he could speak Spanish andfence, which he was able to do.[77] Lee appeared uncredited in the American epicQuo Vadis (1951), which was shot in Rome, playing a chariot driver and was injured when he was thrown from it at one point during the shoot.[74]
Lee's Dracula is a force of nature: red-eyed, blood dripping from fangs, often in the grip of rage. He's hypnotic, physically powerful, well-spoken, but Lee also understood – crucially – that an important layer from Bram Stoker's novel had been missing from Lugosi's performance: sexuality. Lee's Dracula is a rampant sex fiend, using that stare to make buxom ladies everywhere come over a little faint.
—Empire magazine's entry for Lee's portrayal of Dracula as the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.[82]
Lee's own appearance as Frankenstein's monster led to his first appearance as theTransylvanian vampireCount Dracula in the filmDracula (1958, known asHorror of Dracula in the US).[76] The film saw Lee's "triumphant debut" fix the image of the fanged vampire in popular culture, according to the writerKevin Jackson.[83]Dracula has been ranked among the bestBritish films.[84] Lee introduced a dark, brooding sexuality to the character, withTim Stanley stating, "Lee's sensuality was subversive in that it hinted that women might quite like having their neck chewed on by a stud."[85] The film magazineEmpire ranked Lee's portrayal as Dracula the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.[82]CNN listed the performance third in their top 10 British villains, noting his "chilling, sonorous tone."[86] Lee accepted a similar role in an Italian-French horror picture calledUncle Was a Vampire (1959). The same year he starred asKharis in the Hammer Horror filmThe Mummy.[87]
Lee returned to the role of Dracula in Hammer'sDracula: Prince of Darkness (1965).[76] Lee's role has no lines; he merely hisses his way through the film. Stories vary as to the reason for this: Lee states he refused to speak the poor dialogue he was given, but the screenwriterJimmy Sangster claims that the script did not contain any lines for the character. This film set the standard for most of the Dracula sequels in the sense that half the film's running time was spent on telling the story of Dracula's resurrection and the character's appearances were brief. Lee went on record to state that he was virtually "blackmailed" by Hammer into starring in the subsequent films; unable or unwilling to pay him his going rate, they would resort to reminding him of how many people he would put out of work if he did not take part:[88]
The process went like this: The telephone would ring and my agent would say, "Jimmy Carreras [President of Hammer Films] has been on the phone, they've got another Dracula for you." And I would say, "Forget it! I don't want to do another one." I'd get a call from Jimmy Carreras, in a state of hysteria. "What's all this about?!" "Jim, I don't want to do it, and I don't have to do it." "No, you have to do it!" And I said, "Why?" He replied, "Because I've already sold it to the American distributor with you playing the part. Think of all the people you know so well, that you will put out of work!" Emotional blackmail. That's the only reason I did them.[88]
His roles in the filmsDracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968),Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), andScars of Dracula (1970) all gave the Count very little to do. Lee said in an interview in 2005, "all they do is write a story and try and fit the character in somewhere, which is very clear when you see the films. They gave me nothing to do! I pleaded with Hammer to let me use some of the lines thatBram Stoker had written. Occasionally, I sneaked one in."[74] He starred in two further Dracula films for Hammer in the early 1970s, both of which attempted to bring the character into the modern-day era. These were not commercially successful:Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) andThe Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). The latter film was tentatively titledDracula Is Dead... and Well and Living in London, a parody of the stage and film musical revueJacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, but Lee was not amused. Speaking at a press conference in 1973 to announce the film, Lee said, "I'm doing it under protest. I think it is fatuous. I can think of twenty adjectives – fatuous, pointless, absurd. It's not a comedy, but it's got a comic title. I don't see the point."[89]The Satanic Rites of Dracula was the last Dracula film in which Lee played the Dracula role, as he felt he had played the part too many times and that the films had deteriorated in quality.[90]
In all, Lee played Dracula ten times: seven films for Hammer Productions, once forJesús Franco'sCount Dracula (1970), uncredited inJerry Lewis'sOne More Time (1970) andÉdouard Molinaro'sDracula and Son (1976) (he also played an unnamed but Dracula-like vampire inThe Magic Christian [1969]). Lee portrayed Rasputin inRasputin, the Mad Monk (1966) and Sir Henry Baskerville (to Cushing'sSherlock Holmes) inThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). Lee later played Holmes himself in 1962'sSherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace, and returned to Holmes films withBilly Wilder's British-madeThe Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), in which he plays Sherlock's smarter brother,Mycroft. Lee considers this film to be the reason he stopped being typecast: "I've never been typecast since. Sure, I've played plenty of heavies, but asAnthony Hopkins says, "I don't play villains, I play people.""[74] Lee played a leading role in the German filmThe Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962), speaking German, which he had learned during his education in Switzerland. He auditioned for a part in the filmThe Longest Day (1962), but was turned down because he did not "look like a military man." Some film books incorrectly credit him with a role in the film, something he had to correct for the rest of his life.[91]
Lee's friend the authorDennis Wheatley was responsible for bringing theoccult to him.[92] The company made two films from Wheatley's novels, both starring Lee.The New York Times described Lee's performance in the first,The Devil Rides Out (1967), as "suave dignity".[93] However, the second film,To the Devil a Daughter (1976), was troubled by production difficulties and was disowned by its author. Although financially successful, it was Hammer's last horror film. CriticLeonard Maltin described it as "well-made but lacking punch".[94]
Like Cushing, Lee also appeared in horror films for other companies from 1957 to 1977. These included the Dr.Fu Manchu series of films made between 1965 and 1969 (beginning withThe Face of Fu Manchu) in which he starred as the villain inyellowface make-up;I, Monster (1971), an adaptation ofRobert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novellaStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, with the main characters' names changed to Dr. Charles Marlowe and Mr. Edward Blake;The Creeping Flesh (1972); and his personal favourite, which he considered his best film,The Wicker Man (1973), in which he played Lord Summerisle.[96][74] Lee wanted to break free of his image as Dracula and take on more interesting acting roles. He met with the screenwriterAnthony Shaffer, and they agreed to work together. The film directorRobin Hardy andBritish Lion head Peter Snell became involved in the project. Shaffer had a series of conversations with Hardy, and the two decided that it would be fun to make a horror film centring on "old religion," in sharp contrast to the popular Hammer films of the day.[97] Shaffer read the David Pinner novelRitual, in which a devout Christian policeman is called to investigate what appears to be the ritual murder of a young girl in a rural village, and decided that it would serve well as the source material for the project. Shaffer and Lee paid Pinner £15,000 (equivalent to US$267,804 in 2023) for the rights to the novel, and Schaffer set to work on the screenplay. However, he soon decided that a direct adaptation would not work well, and began to craft a new story, using only the novel's basic outline.[97][98] Lee was so keen to get the film made, and the budget was so small, that he gave his services for free.[99] He later called the film the best he had ever made.[74]
I had no idea that was what it was when I agreed to the role. I was told it was about the Marquis de Sade. I flew out to Spain for one day's work playing the part of a narrator. I had to wear a crimson dinner jacket. There were lots of people behind me. They all had their clothes on. There didn't seem to be anything peculiar or strange. A friend said: 'Do you know you are in a film inOld Compton Street?' In those days that was where the mackintosh brigade watchedtheir films. 'Very funny,' I said. So I crept along there heavily disguised in dark glasses and scarf, and found the cinema and there was my name. I was furious! There was a huge row. When I had left Spain that day everyone behind me had taken their clothes off![66]
In addition to making films in the United Kingdom, Lee made films in mainland Europe: he appeared in two German films,Count Dracula (1970), where he again played the vampire count, andThe Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967). Other films in Europe he made includeCastle of the Living Dead (1964) andHorror Express (1972). Lee was a producer of the horror filmNothing But the Night (1972), in which he starred. It was the first and last film he produced, as he did not enjoy the process.[91]
Lee appeared as theComte de Rochefort inRichard Lester'sThe Three Musketeers (1973). He injured his left knee during filming, something he still felt many years later.[74] After the mid-1970s, Lee eschewed horror roles almost entirely. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels and Lee's step-cousin, had offered him the role of thetitular antagonist in the first Eon-produced Bond filmDr. No (1962). Lee enthusiastically accepted, but by the time Fleming told the producers, they had already chosenJoseph Wiseman for the role.[74] Lee finally got to play aJames Bondvillain inThe Man with the Golden Gun (1974), in which he was cast as the assassinFrancisco Scaramanga. Lee said of his performance, "In Fleming's novel he's just a West Indian thug, but in the film he's charming, elegant, amusing, lethal... I played him like the dark side of Bond."[74]
Because of his filming schedule inBangkok, the film-directorKen Russell was unable to sign Lee to play the Specialist inTommy (1975). That role was eventually given toJack Nicholson. In an AMC documentary onHalloween (1978),John Carpenter states that he offered the role ofSamuel Loomis to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, beforeDonald Pleasence took the role. Years later, Lee told Carpenter that the biggest regret of his career was not taking the role of Dr. Loomis.[100]
Christopher Lee at Festival des Passions inAubagne, France, in September 1996
In 1977, Lee left the UK for the US, concerned at being typecast in horror films, as had happened to his close friends Peter Cushing andVincent Price.[66] His first American appearance was in the disaster filmAirport '77 (1977). In 1978, Lee surprised many people with his willingness to go along with a joke, appearing as guest host on NBC'sSaturday Night Live.[74]Steven Spielberg, who was in the audience for that show, cast him in1941 (1979).[74] Meanwhile, Lee co-starred withBette Davis in the Disney filmReturn from Witch Mountain (1978).[101] He turned down the role of Dr. Barry Rumack (finally played byLeslie Nielsen) in the disaster spoofAirplane! (1980), a decision he later called "a big mistake."[74]
Lee and Peter Cushing appeared together in more than a dozen feature films for Hammer Films,Amicus Productions, and other companies, as well as inHamlet (1948) andMoulin Rouge (1952), albeit in separate scenes. They featured, too, in separate instalments of theStar Wars films: Cushing asGrand Moff Tarkin in the original film, and Lee decades later asCount Dooku. The last project that united them in person was a documentary,Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994), which they jointly narrated, two months before Cushing's death.[104]
Lee considered his best performance to be in this period, when he played Pakistan's founderMuhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopicJinnah (1998).[74][96]
Lee atForbidden Planet, New Oxford Street, London, signingThe Two Towers
Lee had many television roles. These included the role Flay in theBBC television serialGormenghast (2000) based onMervyn Peake's novels. He also appeared as Lucas de Beaumanoir, the Grand Master of theKnights Templar, in the BBC/A&E co-production of SirWalter Scott'sIvanhoe (1997).[105]
Lee played the corrupted wizardSaruman inPeter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings andThe Hobbit film trilogies. The role has been described as "one of the most powerful villains in cinema history", relying on Lee's "physical appearance", in contrast to the Dark Lord Sauron.[113]
Some thirty years after playing Francisco Scaramanga inThe Man with the Golden Gun, Lee provided the voice of Scaramanga in the video gameGoldenEye: Rogue Agent.[118][124] In 2013, Lee voiced The Earl of Earl's Court in theBBC Radio 4 radio playNeverwhere byNeil Gaiman.[125] Lee recorded special dialogue, in addition to serving as the Narrator, for theLego The Hobbit video game released in April 2014; at 91 years and 316 days old he appears in theGuinness Book of Records as the oldest video game narrator.[126]
In 2004, Lee lamented that Hollywood scripts were mainly spin-offs, as people were afraid of taking financial risks, commenting that he was mostly being offered spin-offs ofLord of the Rings orStar Wars.[96] In 2010, he marked his fourth collaboration with Tim Burton by voicing theJabberwock in Burton'sadaptation ofLewis Carroll's classic bookAlice in Wonderland, alongsideJohnny Depp,Helena Bonham Carter andAnne Hathaway.[78][118] Lee respected Depp as "a fellow survivor",[127] describing him as "inventive and [having] enormous versatility".[127] In 2010, Lee received theSteiger Award (Germany) and,[128] in February 2011, Lee was awarded theBAFTA Fellowship.[129]
In 2011, he appeared in a Hammer film,The Resident, for the first time in 35 years. The film was directed byAntti Jokinen, and Lee gave a "superbly sinister" performance alongsideHilary Swank andJeffrey Dean Morgan.[130][131] While filming scenes for the film inNew Mexico in early 2009, Lee injured his back when he tripped over power cables on set.[64] Lee appears as the unnamed "Old Gentleman" who acts as Lachlan's mentor in a flashback.[132] Also in 2011, Lee appeared in the critically acclaimedHugo, directed byMartin Scorsese.[133]
Lee reprised the role of Saruman for the prequel filmThe Hobbit.[134] He said he would have liked to have shown Saruman's corruption bySauron,[135] but was too old to travel to New Zealand, so the production was adjusted to allow him to participate from London.[136] In 2012, Lee marked his fifth and final collaboration with Tim Burton, by appearing in Burton's film adaptation of thegothic soap operaDark Shadows, in the small role of aNew England fishing captain.[137][138]
Lee at the Berlin International Film Festival 2013
In an interview in August 2013, Lee said that he was "saddened" to hear his friend Johnny Depp was considering retiring from acting, observing that he himself had no intention of doing that:
There are frustrations – people who lie to you, people who don't know what they are doing, films that don't turn out the way you had wanted them to – so, yes, I do understand [why Depp would consider retiring]. I always ask myself, "Well, what else could I do?" Making films has never just been a job to me, it's my life. I have some interests outside of acting – I sing and I've written books, for instance – but acting is what keeps me going, it's what I do, it gives life purpose... I'm realistic about the amount of work I can get at my age, but I take what I can, even voice-overs and narration.[139]
Lee narrated the feature-length documentaryNecessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics, which was released on 25 October 2013.[140] In 2014, he appeared in an episode of the BBC documentary seriesTimeshift calledHow to Be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Faces of a Master Detective. Lee and others who had played Sherlock Holmes discussed the character and the various interpretations of him.[141] He appeared in a web exclusive, reading an excerpt from the Sherlock Holmes short storyThe Final Problem.[142]
A month before his death, Lee had signed to star with anensemble cast in the Danish filmThe 11th.[143] One of his final performances was the independentAngels in Notting Hill directed by Michael Pakleppa,[144] a fantasy film about an angel trapped in London who falls in love with a human being. Lee played The Boss / Mr. President and the film premiered in the Regent Street Cinema, London on 29 October 2016.[145]
With the song "Jingle Hell," Lee entered theBillboardHot Singles Sales chart at No. 22, thus becoming the second oldest living performer to ever enter the music charts, at 91 years and 6 months.[152][153] After media attention, the song rose to No. 18. as Lee became the oldest person to have a top 20 hit.[154]
Lee released a third EP of covers in May 2014, calledMetal Knight, to celebrate his 92nd birthday; in addition to a cover of "My Way," it contains "The Toreador March," inspired by the operaCarmen, and the songs "The Impossible Dream" and "I, Don Quixote" from theDon Quixote musicalMan of La Mancha. Lee was inspired to record the latter songs because, "as far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know."[155] His fourth EP and third annual Christmas release came in December 2014, as he put out "Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing," a playful take on "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."[156] He explained: "It's light-hearted, joyful and fun... At my age, the most important thing for me is to keep active by doing things that I truly enjoy. I do not know how long I am going to be around, so every day is a celebration, and I want to share it with my fans."[157]
Lee is featured in the symphonic metal albumCharlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010, after having previously worked on metal projects.[150] The heavy metal follow-upCharlemagne: The Omens of Death was released in 2013 on Lee's 91st birthday. He was honoured with the "Spirit of Hammer" award at the 2010Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards ceremony; when presented the award byTony Iommi, he jokingly apologized toSaxon for his song "Massacre of the Saxons", and thanked the audience for listening to "a young man right at the beginning of his career".[158][159] On theself-titled debut album byHollywood Vampires, a supergroup consisting of Johnny Depp,Alice Cooper andJoe Perry, Lee is featured as a narrator in the track "The Last Vampire." Recorded shortly before his death, this marks Lee's final appearance on a musical record.[160] In 2019, Rhapsody of Fire included a posthumous narration on their new album,The Eighth Mountain, in which Lee narrated the concept story of the band'sNephilim Empire Saga.[161]
The Carandinis, Lee's maternal ancestors, were given the right to bear thecoat of arms of theHoly Roman Empire by theEmperor Frederick Barbarossa.[7][120] In the late 1950s, Lee was engaged to Countess Henriette EwaAgnes von Rosen, whom he had met at a nightclub in Stockholm.[162] Her father, Count Fritz von Rosen, proved demanding, getting them to delay the wedding for a year, asking his London-based friends to interview Lee, hiring private detectives to investigate him, and asking Lee to provide him with references, which Lee obtained fromDouglas Fairbanks Jr.,John Boulting, andJoe Jackson.[163] Lee found the meeting of her extended family to be like something from a surrealistLuis Buñuel film, and thought they were "killing me with cream."[164] Finally, Lee had to have the permission ofKing Gustaf VI of Sweden to marry. Lee had met him some years before while filmingTales of Hans Anderson, where he received his blessing.[164] Shortly before the wedding, Lee ended the engagement. He was concerned that his financial insecurity in his chosen profession meant that she "deserved better" than being "pitched into the dishevelled world of an actor." She understood, and they called the wedding off.[165]
Lee was introduced to the Danish painter and former model Birgit "Gitte" Krøncke (1935–2024) by a Danish friend in 1960.[166] They were engaged soon after, and married on 17 March 1961.[167] They had a daughter, Christina Erika Carandini Lee (b. 1963).[168] Lee was the uncle of the British actressHarriet Walter.[120] Lee and his daughter Christina provided spoken vocals on Rhapsody of Fire's albumsTriumph or Agony andThe Cold Embrace of Fear - A Dark Romantic Symphony. Lee moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s after becoming disillusioned with film roles he was being offered in Britain and stated that in Hollywood, "I was no longer ahorror star. I was an actor."[169] He subsequently moved back to England and lived with his family inCadogan Square in west London until his death.[170]
Lee was known for his imposing height of 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m).[66][171] On BBC Radio'sTest Match Special "View from the Boundary" interview withBrian Johnston on 20 June 1987, Lee described himself as being 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall.[172] Lee and his wife Birgit were listed among the "fifty best-dressed over 50s" byThe Guardian in March 2013.[173]
Lee had an interest in the occult, to which he was introduced byDennis Wheatley.[92] It was once erroneously reported Lee had a library of occult literature that amounted to 20,000 books. During a talk atUniversity College Dublin, Lee confirmed he did not have such a collection and said "Somebody wrote that I had 20,000 books. I don't—I'd have to live in a bath!" He cautioned the audience against involving themselves in occult practices, claiming "I have met people who claim to be Satanists, who claim to be involved with black magic, who claimed that they not only knew a lot about it. But as I said, I certainly have not been involved and I warn all of you: never, never, never. You will not only lose your mind: you lose your soul."[177][178]
Christopher is truly a force to be reckoned with. Doing a scene with him and having him peering down at you, screaming into your face, all you can think of is 'My God, that's Dracula!'
Johnny Depp, who worked with Lee in five Tim Burton films, fromSleepy Hollow in 1999 toDark Shadows in 2012.[179]
Lee died at theChelsea and Westminster Hospital on 7 June 2015 at the age of 93. The cause of death was heart failure. His wife delayed the public announcement until 11 June, informing his family of the death before releasing the news to the press.[180][181][182]
Following Lee's death, fans, friends, actors, directors and others involved in the film industry publicly gave their personal tributes.[183][184][185][186] Then-Prime MinisterDavid Cameron praised Lee as a "titan ofthe golden age of cinema."[182] He was honoured by the academy at the88th Academy Awards on 28 February 2016 in the annual In Memoriam section.[187]
Lee was named 2005's "most marketable star in the world" in aUSA Today newspaper poll, after three of the films he appeared in grossed US$640 million.[195] In 2010, he was identified as theIMDb member with the greatestcloseness centrality, implying he was thebest-connected person in the business.[196]
In 2011, accompanied by his wife Birgit, and on the 164th anniversary of the birth of Bram Stoker, Lee was honoured with a tribute byUniversity College Dublin, and described his honorary life membership of the UCD Law Society as "in some ways as special as the Oscars".[202] He was awarded the Bram Stoker Gold Medal by the Trinity College Philosophical Society, of which Stoker had been president, and a copy ofCollected Ghost Stories of MR James by Trinity College's School of English.[203]
Christopher Lee's X Certificate, London: Star Books, 1975. Hardcover reprint,Christopher Lee's 'X' Certificate edited by Christopher Lee and Michel Parry, London: W. H. Allen, 1976. US retitled reprint in paperback asFrom the Archives of Evil, New York: Warner Books, 1976.
Christopher Lee's Archives of Evil, London: Mayflower paperback, 1975. Hardcover reprint asArchives of Evil presented by Christopher Lee and Michel Parry. London: W. H. Allen, 1977. US retitled reprint in paperback asFrom the Archives of Evil 2, New York: Warner Books, 1976.
Christopher Lee's Omnibus of Evil, London: Mayflower paperback, 1975; reprint 1980). Retitled hardcover reprint asThe Great Villains: An Omnibus of Evil, presented by Christopher Lee and Michel Parry. London: W. H. Allen, 1978.
Note: Lee was a 'ghost-editor' on the above series, which was edited by the anthologist Michel Parry.
Tall, Dark and Gruesome. (autobiography). London: W. H. Allen, 1977. Expanded retitled edition asLord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee. London: Orion Books, 2003, with an introduction byPeter Jackson.
"Jingle Hell" (2013): number 18 on theBillboardHot Singles Sales, thus becoming the second oldest living performer to ever enter the music charts, at 91 years and 6 months.[152][153][154]
"Christopher Lee honoured by UCD Law Society".UCD News.University College Dublin. November 2011. Retrieved12 June 2015.The Carandini family is one of the oldest in Europe and traces itself back to the first century AD. It is believed to have been connected with the Emperor Charlemagne, and as such was granted the right to bear the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
^"Fantasian hyvä paha mies" [A good bad man in fantasy] (in Finnish). Turun Sanomat. 15 May 2002. Archived fromthe original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved27 August 2020.
^Peter Jackson (2002).Cameras in Middle-earth (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended Edition documentary) (DVD).New Line Cinema.
^"Steiger Award 2010: Die Preisverleihung" [Steiger Award 2010: The Award Ceremony].Ruhr Nachrichten (in German). 13 March 2010. Archived fromthe original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved11 June 2021.Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sir Christopher Lee – die Liste der Prominenten, die am Samstag in der Bochumer Jahrhunderthalle mit dem Steiger Award 2010 ausgezeichnet worden sind, ist lang.
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