RIP Christopher Lee

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It looks like a veteran of acting has left us. What a career this man had; from playing Dracula and Frankenstein to Saruman and Count Dooku.
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/christophe ... 64947.html

I was wondering how much longer he'd stick around. He was acting well into his 90s and showed no signs of slowing down. His buddy Peter Cushing passed two decades ago. It's sad that he seems to be known these days primarily for The Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars prequels, but hopefully the news of his passing will get people to seek out the stuff he used to be known for, and still should be. He always resented the fact that he never got to be the prolific Shakespearean actor he wanted to be and was known primarily for horror films, but he treated those horror films like they were Shakespeare and excelled at them. His Dracula and Mummy are definitive, as far as I'm concerned, and he could bring dignity to the silliest of roles.

Wow, I can't believe it.

His voice was terrific.

Christopher Lee IS the voice of Saruman.

Sorry to see him go - he was great.

I knew he was the original Dracula, but I didn't know he was in some classic James Bond films. I guess you don't really realize how influential some actors are until they are no longer here.

He wasn't the original Dracula by a longshot; but he was, in my opinion, by far the best.

I find it hard to believe he played Sherlock Holmes, and yes, may he rest in peace.

Unfortunately he never really got to shine as Holmes. His voice was dubbed over by another actor in Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace, and his 70-year-old Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady and Incident at Victoria Falls wasn't too interesting. He was more compelling in the Holmes films in which he didn't play Holmes: as Sir Henry in The Hound of the Baskervilles and as Mycroft Holmes in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

No, this is the original Dracula : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler

On which Stoker's Dracula is only very loosely based.



Only in the man with the golden gun as the man with the golden gun

When I said original I meant film wise, which I realize isn't right either (seem to get my classic horror movie actors mixed up sometimes), but didn't know that the character was based on an actual person. You learn something new everyday.

I'm not very familiar with the James Bond Franchise so I wouldn't have known.

It still is a great loss to the film industry. A lot of today's actors have studied what actors like him do and how they bring their characters to life and create their own craft based on that.

RIP Christopher
1922 - 2015

Good thing he was able to finish his role in the Hobbit series.

I remember getting his album "Metal Knight" when it came out. Couldn't believe he was in his 90s with pipes like that. He was truly an amazing man.

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, two names that always seemed to joined on the marquee when I gained an awareness of Hammer Films in the early 1970s. I have read he did not really care too much for the sequels to the Horror of Dracula because more and more they basically Dracula as furniture. Still, when they put the blood shot contact lenses in, he was an awesome and ferocious vampire. That is until Peter killed him. He was on the cover of the book that got me reading, Terrors of the Screen.

I was really glad to see him working so much in his later years. I was just visiting IMDB. I forgot how many Tim Burton films he was in, and I always annoyed my sons because I would whisper "IT'S CHRISTOPHER LEE!"

For those interested, and if you have access to Turner Classic Movies, there is going to be a Christopher Lee marathon, at least eight movies.

Monday, June 22
5:15am The Mummy
7:00am The Curse of Frankenstein
8:30am Horror of Dracula
10:00am Dracula, Prince of Darkness
11:45am Dracula has Risen From the Grave
1:30pm Horror Express
3:00pm The Three Musketeers
5:00pm The Four Musketeers

All times are Central Time (-6 GMT)

RIP to a Hammer Film legend. He starred in many Dracula films, as well as the Lord of the Rings. Great actor especially in the villain roles.
My late dad used to be a huge horror/sci fi fan...he watched late night horror film features on Saturday nights back in the early 60s, loved the Twilight Zone, Star Trek, etc. He also kept years of Famous Monsters magazines, until many were stolen and thrown away. Christopher Lee was one of his favorite actors and I wouldn't be surprised if he saw every one of those Frankenstein/Dracula films from Hammer. I'm sure he's hanging out with Mr. Lee right now in that great oasis in the sky.
Can't believe he was acting just a couple of years ago.