An accomplished English actor and vocalist, Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was a household name. He became famous with his roles in Hammer Studios’ horror movies. Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin, is a close friend of his, and the two worked together on Star Wars. It was his own acting talent that gave Count Dooku his superhuman abilities on screen. Christopher Lee portrayed the film’s main antagonist Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun. As Count Ottokar Graf Czerin, he collaborated with George Lucas on an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles set in Austria in March 1917, which aired in 1992. The role of Saruman in the Lord of the Rings films brought much acclaim to Sir Christopher, who played the character. He also dabbled in music and released a CD called Revelation. In addition, he collaborated with the Italian power metal band Rhapsody of Fire, performing on a number of their songs alongside the band’s lead singer. At the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, Christopher Lee was given the Spirit of Metal award for his contributions to the metal community.
Childhood & Early Life.
On May 27, 1922, in Belgravia, London, England, Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was born to British Army Officer Geoffrey Trollope Lee and his wife, Contessa Estelle Marie (née Carandini de Sarzano).
His mother took him and his sister to Switzerland after his parents divorced when they were quite young.
At Miss Fisher’s Academy in Wengen, he got his start in acting as Rumpelstiltskin. Soon after, they moved back to London, and he enrolled in Summer Field’s School, a prep school in Oxford. Soon after, he was able to attend both Eton College and Wellington College thanks to a scholarship, where he became an expert in classical languages including Greek and Latin.
Christopher Lee Wife and family.
After meeting Henriette von Rosen in a Stockholm bar in the late ’50s, Christopher Lee proposed to her. Count Fritz von Rosen, her father, insisted on and successfully persuaded them to put off the wedding for a year.
Also, Henriette von Rosen’s dad engaged private investigators and urged his London-based pals to interrogate Christopher Lee. References were also required, and Christopher Lee rounded up Joe Jackson, John Boulting, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Christopher Lee eventually broke off the engagement on the eve of the wedding.
A coworker from Denmark introduced Christopher Lee to Danish painter and former model Birgit Kroencke in 1960. They got engaged quickly after that and were married on March 17, 1961. Their daughter, Christina Erika Lee, entered the world in 1963.
Career
In 1939, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force during Second World War from where he retired later with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He also served as an intelligence officer with the Long Range Desert Group in Northern Africa and in the Special Forces.
After the war ended, he was admitted to Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects and was assigned the task of tracking down Nazi war criminals.
In 1947, he entered the film industry and earned a seven-year contract with Rank Organization. He got enrolled at an acting school for Rank Organization where aspiring actors were being groomed for stardom. Soon, he made his film debut in Terence Young’s Corridors of Mirrors, a gothic romance.
1952 proved to be a turning point in his career as Douglas Fairbanks Jr. started making films at the British National Studios. In the same year, he appeared in John Huston’s Moulin Rouge, which was later nominated for Oscars.
In 1959, he starred in Hammer’s The Mummy and then portrayed the eponymous character in Rasputin, the Mad Monk. In the same year, he also played the role of Sir Henry Baskerville in The Hound of the Baskervilles.
In 1962, he appeared in Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace. He then played the leading role in a German film titled The Puzzle of the Red Orchid.
In 1970, Christopher Lee played Sherlock’s brother Mycroft in Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.
Some of the other films in which he appeared during this time period include The Creeping Flesh (1972), The Wicker Man (1973), and two German films namely Count Dracula and The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism. He also worked in few European movies, including Castle of the Living Dead and Horror Express.
In 1974, he was cast as the villain Francisco Scaramanga in James Bond’s film The Man with the Golden Gun.
In 1977, he left for America and did a number of films, including The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) and Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985). He appeared as Sherlock Holmes in Incident at Victoria Falls (1991) and Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991).
In 1994, he starred as a Russian commander in Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.
In 1998, he played the role of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in the film Jinnah. The film received an overwhelmingly positive response in Pakistan and he confessed that Jinnah was the favorite role of his career thus far.
He did many television roles, including the role of Flay in the BBC mini-series Gormenghast (2000). He then played Stephen Wyszynski in the CBS mini-series John Paul II (2005).
In 2009, he appeared in Stephen Poliakoff’s British war thriller film Glorious 39, drama film Triage, and Duncan Ward’s comedy film Boogie Woogie.
In 2011, he appeared in Hammer’s film The Resident alongside Hillary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The film received negative response from the critics. In the same year, he also appeared in the critically acclaimed Hugo, which was directed by Martin Scorsese.]
He voiced many characters, including King Haggard in The Last Unicorn, and Thor in the Danish film Valhalla. He also provided his voice for the English dub of Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday and in the animated versions of Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters.
He provided his voice for many video games as well, including Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts 352/2 Days, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, and Golden Eye: Rouge Agent.
With his classically trained bass voice, he provided vocals to a song in The Return of Captain Invincible. He also provided vocals to Kathy Joe Daylor’s song Little Witch.
In 2013, he narrated a documentary titled Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics.
The following year, he was seen in an episode of Timeshift called How to Be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Faces of a Master Detective.
His posthumous releases include Angels in Notting Hill, in which he had voiced God / Mr. President. He also narrated a short film titled The Hunting of the Snark, which released in 2017.
Christopher Lee | |
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Christopher Lee: History ‧ Bio ‧ Photo | |
Wiki Facts & About Data | |
Full Name: | Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee |
Stage Name: | Christopher Lee |
Born: | 27 May 1922 (age 93 years old) |
Place of Birth: | Belgravia, London, United Kingdom |
Nationality: | English |
Height: | 1.96 m |
Parents: | Geoffrey Trollope Lee, Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano |
Siblings: | Xandra Lee |
Wife • Spouse: | Birgit Kroencke (m. 1961–2015) |
Girlfriend • Partner: | Henriette von Rosen (ex.) |
Children: | Christina Erika Lee |
Occupation: | Actor • TV Personality |
Net Worth: | US$25 million |
Christopher Lee Cause of death
Christopher Lee died of respiratory failure and heart failure on June 7th, 2015, at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.
Christopher Lee net worth
As of the time of his passing, Christopher Lee was said to have amassed a fortune of around $25 million (USD). His primary sources of wealth are acting, investments, and real estate.