Christopher Lee
Born this day in 1922
Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun
Count Dracula. Saruman. Francisco Scaramanga. Count Dooku.
Lord Summerisle. The list of memorable characters that leave an indelible mark
on popular culture by Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ cannot be
overstated. At 93, Lee is an actor, singer, author, and truly a living legend.
His background is fascinating. Born in the Westminster
district of London, his parents separated when he was four years old and
divorced not long after. His mother moved him and his sister, Xandra, to
Switzerland and then back to London, where she married Harcourt George St-Croix
Rose, uncle of Ian Fleming and consequently, Lee’s step-cousin. He was a
passable student and went to Wellington College. While he had engaged in acting
prior to going to college, apparently, he did little to no acting during that
time.
In 1939, his mother and stepfather separated so Lee was
required to go to work to help support the family. Since the summer months were
upon him and that’s when employers went on holiday, there were no immediate
positions for Lee. He and his sister went to France that summer. He stayed with
the Russian Mazirov family and rubbed elbows with exiled royal families for a
time until he returned to London, prior to war breaking out.
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| Scars of Dracula (1970) |
Lee volunteered for military service. First with the Finnish
forces in 1939 then for the Royal Air Force, because he did not want to follow
his father’s footsteps by serving in the Army. Training to pilot did not work
out for Lee; he was diagnosed with optic nerve failure (he suffered headaches
and blurred vision symptoms). Since he couldn’t fly but wanted to “do something
constructive for my keep” he applied with the RAF Intelligence. He was almost
killed in the line of duty several times. Being fluent in many languages (9
actually!), Lee was assigned to the Central Registry of War Criminals and
Security Suspects. Lee has mentioned that he was attached to the Special
Operations Executive and the Long Range Desert Patrol, precursor to the SAS,
but he has declined to go into any details of that part of his service.
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| Dynamic duo - Peter Cushing and Lee |
With the war over, Lee returned to London and to a job with
more money, but he was restless and wanted to do something else. A relative
suggested he become an actor. It seems absurd, but one person in the industry
claimed Lee was too tall to be an actor (he’s 6’5”), but Rank Organisation
signed him to a seven-year contract. And in 1947, Lee made his film debut in Corridor
of Mirrors directed by Terence Young. Thus
began a 10-year apprenticeship in which Lee learned the trade, worked with
stellar talent – Laurence Olivier, Peter Cushing, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., John
Huston, and Buster Keaton – and proved he could act, in spite of his height!
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| Trio of Horror: Lee, Cushing and Vincent Price |
From the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s, Lee worked in the
horror genre via the Hammer films. During that time, he re-teamed with Peter
Cushing, but he also worked with horror greats Boris Karloff and Vincent Price,
among others. Lee became synonymous with the character Dracula and eventually,
Lee was ready to break from that character and pursue other roles.
To me, two films stand out from the others of that time when
he was seeking to redefine his filmography away from horror. Lee as Scaramanaga
in The Man with the Golden Gun was his
second shot at starring in a James Bond film. The first was actually Dr.
No. Fleming offered the villainous role to
Lee, who accepted, however the producers had already chosen Joseph Wiseman. I
think either role would have fit Lee. I’m glad he got a second opportunity. My
favorite Lee film of this period however is his portrayal of Lord Summerisle
from The Wicker Man (1973). Where
else will you get to see a charming (and smiling) Lee singing and wearing a
kilt? Joking aside, this is a fascinating film with an amazing soundtrack.
Lee moved to America to continue his shift away from being
typecast in the horror genre. He did several American films from the late 1970s
and on. And, now into the 21st century, Lee has continued to work in
some of the biggest franchises – Star Wars
and The Lord of the Rings – and
on a number of Tim Burton films.
He has lent his voice to video games and in the music industry, he has
contributed from opera to folk to metal to musicals. His single from Charlemagne:
The Omens on Death makes him the oldest
performer in the history of heavy metal! Rock on and happy birthday Mr. Lee!
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| Lee as Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man |
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| As Count Dooku |
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| As Saruman |
Note: All images found via Google.
© Copyright. Michele Brittany.
2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected
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