Legendary actor Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93

[dutchman]

Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93.



The actor was best known for his work with Hammer Horror, as well as The Wicker Man and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Lee died at 8.30am on Sunday (June 7) at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, The Telegraph reports.

He had been undergoing treatment for respiratory problems and heart failure over the last few weeks.

Born in London in 1922, Lee worked as an office clerk before enlisting in the RAF in World War II.

He trained as an actor in the Rank Organisation, and appeared in several films before his breakthrough role in 1958's Hammer Horror Dracula.

Lee played Count Dracula opposite Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, and went on to play Dracula several times more in more Hammer films.

Other key Lee roles included The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes in 1970 and The Three Musketeers in 1973.

In 1973 he also played Lord Summerisle in the cult horror classic The Wicker Man and the following year, Lee played Bond villain Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, starring opposite Roger Moore's 007.

In his later career, Lee played Saruman in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and Count Dooku in the second and third Star Wars prequels.

Lee also formed a relationship with director Tim Burton and had roles in Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland.

After singing in The Wicker Man, The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) and Funny Man (1994), Lee became interested in heavy metal.

He went on to release Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 and Charlemagne: The Omens of Death in 2013, in addition to a series of heavy metal Christmas releases.

He was appointed a CBE for services to drama in 2001, and knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009.

Lee received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011, and was honoured with the BFI Fellowship in 2013.