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Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE (born May 27, 1922 in London) is a legendary and prolific British actor known for his versatility and film longevity.
Lee became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. He is viewed by many as the quintessential film villain. Other notable films include The Wicker Man and The Man with the Golden Gun. Lee is now over 80 years old, and still appearing in films such as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
He was educated at Eton and Wellington College, where he won scholarships in classics. He volunteered to fight for the Finnish forces during the Winter War against the Soviet Union in 1939, then served in the Royal Air Force and intelligence during World War II.
Christopher Lee portrays Saruman the White in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogyHe made his film debut in Terence Young's Gothic Romance, Corridor of Mirrors, in 1948. Throughout the next decade, Lee made nearly 30 films, playing mostly stock action characters. His first film for Hammer, made in 1957 with Peter Cushing, was Curse of Frankenstein, in which he played, "The Creature". That led to his first Dracula film, Horror of Dracula, in 1958. From then on, Lee was periodically featured in numerous horror roles for various studios.
Lee has played roles in over 220 films since 1948, and has had many notable television roles. He appeared as Flay in the BBC television miniseries Gormenghast, based on Mervyn Peake's novels.
As an indication to his prolificacy and longevity, Lee has, according to the Oracle of Bacon at Virginia, an average Bacon number of 2.684104 (as of December 2003), making him second on the list of most suitable centres of the Hollywood universe. This calculation uses a modification of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.
In 2001 Christoper Lee was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE by Queen Elizabeth II.
Lee is a direct lineal descendent of Charlemagne through his mother's side. She was a famous Edwardian beauty, the Contessa Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano. She was painted by Sir John Lavery, as well as Oswald Birley, Olive Snell and sculpted by Clare Sheridan, a cousin of Winston Churchill.
The Carandini family was given the right to bear the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Cinemareview cites: "Cardinal Consalvi was Papal Secretary of State at the time of Napoleon and is buried at the Pantheon in Rome next to the painter Raphael. His painting, by Lawrence hangs in Windsor Castle." A further note cites: "A cousin of Christopher Lee was Niccolo Carandini the first Italian ambassador to Britain after World War II and subsequently was President of Alitalia."
Author Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, is Lee's cousin and wanted him to play the first James Bond film villain, Dr. Julius No. Lee would eventually play another Bond villain, Francisco Scaramanga, in The Man with the Golden Gun.
Lee appeared on the cover of the Wings album Band on the Run along with other people, including Clement Freud. Also, he narrated the Dark Secret EP by Italian power metal band, Rhapsody.
Lee was a natural choice for the Lord of the Rings movies, where he plays the role of Saruman. Lee had known Tolkien, and makes it a habit of reading the novel at least once a year.
Lee served in the military during World War II, where he acquired the knowledge of the noise a person makes when stabbed in the back (though the exact circumstances of this knowledge are still covered by the Official Secrets Act). He put this to use when filming The Lord of the Rings, as can be seen on the Extended Edition DVD of The Return of the King.
Christopher Lee portrays Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the ClonesLee's great-grandparents formed Australia's first opera company, performing before miners in towns in the outback.
Lee sings on The Wicker Man soundtrack -- in character as the modern pagan noble in the film -- performing Paul Giovanni's psych folk composition, The Tinker of Rye.
He is fluent in German and moderately proficient in French.
Lee is married to the Dutch model Birgit Kroencke (since 1961). They have a daughter named Christina (born 23 November 1963).
Christopher Lee Filmography
Actor
• Blood Soaked Cinema - Back from the Grave (2005)
• Christopher Lee - Darkness Tolls (2005)
• The Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse (2005)
• Fright Fest (2005)
• Fu Manchu Tu-Fer (2005)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
• Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
• The Bloody Judge (2004)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• The Master Swordsman Returns (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
• The Master Swordsman (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• Russell Mulcahy's Tale of The Mummy (1999)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• The Odyssey (1997)
• Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1997)
• Funny Man (1996)
• The Stupids (1996)
• A Feast At Midnight (1994)
• Police Academy 7 - Mission to Moscow (1994)
• Double Vision (1992)
• Innocent Blood (1992)
• Curse 3 - Blood Sacrifice (1991)
• Journey of Honor (1991)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Incident at Victoria Falls (1991)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991)
• Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
• Honeymoon Academy (1990)
• Around the World in 80 Days (1989)
• Murder Story (1989)
• The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
• Treasure Island (1989)
• The Land of Faraway (1987)
• Shaka Zulu (1987)
• The Girl (1986)
• Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985)
• The No-Tell Hotel (1984)
• The Rosebud Beach Hotel (1984)
• The Return of Captain Invincible (1983)
• House of the Long Shadows (1982)
• Safari 3000 (1982)
• An Eye for an Eye (1981)
• Goliath Awaits (1981)
• Bear Island (1980)
• The Salamander (1980)
• Serial (1980)
• Arabian Adventure (1979)
• Jaguar Lives (1979)
• 1941 (1979)
• Circle of Iron (1978)
• Return From Witch Mountain (1978)
• Airport '77 (1977)
• End of the World (1977)
• Starship Invasions (1977)
• Dracula and Sons (1976)
• To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
• The Devil's Undead (1975)
• The Keeper (1975)
• The Four Musketeers (1974)
• In Search of Dracula (1974)
• The Rites of Dracula (1974)
• The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)
• Dark Places (1973)
• Dracula: The Satanic Rites (1973)
• The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
• The Three Musketeers (1973)
• The Wicker Man (1973)
• The Creeping Flesh (1972)
• Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
• Hannie Caulder (1972)
• Horror Express (1972)
• Count Dracula (1971)
• The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
• I, Monster (1971)
• Albino (1970)
• The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
• Scars of Dracula (1970)
• Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
• Eugenie (1969)
• The Oblong Box (1969)
• Scream and Scream Again (1969)
• The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968)
• The Castle of Fu Manchu (1968)
• Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968)
• The Devil Rides Out (1967)
• Five Golden Dragons (1967)
• Theatre of Death (1967)
• The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967)
• Circus of Fear (1966)
• Rasputin The Mad Monk (1966)
• Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
• Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1965)
• She (1965)
• The Skull (1965)
• Castle of the Walking Dead (1964)
• The Gorgon (1964)
• Crypt of Horror (1963)
• The Virgin of Nuremberg (1963)
• The Whip and the Body (1963)
• Secret of the Red Orchid (1962)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962)
• Hercules in the Haunted World (1961)
• Scream of Fear (1961)
• Beat Girl (1960)
• City of the Living Dead (1960)
• The Hands of Orlac (1960)
• Horror Hotel (1960)
• Too Hot to Handle (1960)
• The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
• The Mummy (1959)
• Uncle Was a Vampire (1959)
• Corridors of Blood (1958)
• A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
• The Truth About Women (1958)
• Horror of Dracula (1958)
• The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
• Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)
• Alias John Preston (1956)
• The Pendulum (1956)
• The Warriors (1955)
• The Crimson Pirate (1952)
• Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
• Corridor of Mirrors (1948)
• Scott of the Antarctic (1948)
Host
• Robots (2005)
Voice
• The Last Unicorn (1982)
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