Christopher Lee British Actor and Singer (1922–2015)

Christopher Lee was a British actor and singer from Belgravia. He died on 7 June 2015 at the age of 93. The recorded cause of death is heart failure. He was known for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002).

Early life

He attended Wellington College, finishing in 1939 and Summer Fields School.

Career

The earliest of his listed screen credits is A Song for Tomorrow, from 1948. His 1970s credits include The Man with the Golden Gun (1974, as Francisco Scaramanga) and 1941 (1979). During the 1990s, he worked on Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and Sleepy Hollow (1999, as the Burgomaster). Work from the 2000s includes The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001, as Saruman) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003, as Saruman, Saruman the White). Alice in Wonderland (2010) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012, as Saruman) are among his 2010s credits.

In total, 187 films and 11 TV series are listed from 1948 to 2014. Fantasy is the most frequent genre among his listed titles (16), followed by action (10) and adventure (10). He is last credited, in his lifetime, on The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). Of his 11 titles with worldwide box-office figures on record, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) has the highest, at $1.14 billion.

Cate Blanchett appears in five of his listed titles, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Other co-stars who recur in his credits are Ian McKellen (five titles) and Johnny Depp (five titles). Peter Jackson directed five of his titles on record. Tim Burton is credited as director on five of them, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007).

Christopher Lee had released 4 albums and one single on record, including Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (2013). EMI is listed as his label.

Recognition

He won the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011. Christopher Lee also received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2001) and the Knight Bachelor (2009). In all, Christopher Lee won 15 awards.

Personal life

Marriages on record are to Birgit Kroencke (1961 to 2015, widowed). He had one child on record.