88-546: The Tally Man is the name of two fictional supervillains in the DC Universe . The original Tally Man previously lived in a poor family who lived in fear of the criminals who they owed money to. When his mother is unable to pay, he attacks and kills the money collector with a fireplace poker. Following this, he is arrested and abused by other inmates. During his sentence, his sister dies of starvation and his mother commits suicide. As an adult, Tally Man seeks revenge and becomes
176-463: A Hammer film, The Resident , for the first time in 35 years. The film was directed by Antti Jokinen , and Lee gave a "superbly sinister" performance alongside Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan . While filming scenes for the film in New Mexico in early 2009, Lee injured his back when he tripped over power cables on set. Lee appears as the unnamed "Old Gentleman" who acts as Lachlan's mentor in
264-514: A Spanish captain. He was cast when the director asked him if he could speak Spanish and fence , which he was able to do. Lee appeared uncredited in the American epic Quo Vadis (1951), which was shot in Rome, playing a chariot driver and was injured when he was thrown from it at one point during the shoot. He recalled that his breakthrough came in 1952, when Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. began making films at
352-461: A banker and uncle of Ian Fleming . Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, thus became Lee's step-cousin. The family moved to Fulham , living next door to the actor Eric Maturin . One night, he was introduced to Prince Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich , the assassins of Grigori Rasputin , who Lee was to play many years later. When Lee was nine, he was sent to Summer Fields School ,
440-420: A call from Jimmy Carreras, in a state of hysteria. "What's all this about?!" "Jim, I don't want to do it, and I don't have to do it." "No, you have to do it!" And I said, "Why?" He replied, "Because I've already sold it to the American distributor with you playing the part. Think of all the people you know so well, that you will put out of work!" Emotional blackmail. That's the only reason I did them. His roles in
528-477: A failure of his optic nerve , and he was told he would never be allowed to fly again. Lee was devastated, and the death of a fellow trainee from his former school, Summer Fields, only made him more despondent. His appeals were fruitless, and he was left with nothing to do. He was moved around to different flying stations before being posted to Southern Rhodesia's capital, Salisbury , in December 1941. He then visited
616-484: A flashback. Also in 2011, Lee appeared in the critically acclaimed Hugo , directed by Martin Scorsese . Christopher is truly a force to be reckoned with. Doing a scene with him and having him peering down at you, screaming into your face, all you can think of is 'My God, that's Dracula!' Johnny Depp who worked with Lee in five Tim Burton films, from Sleepy Hollow in 1999 to Dark Shadows in 2012. Lee reprised
704-614: A job, his sister already working as a secretary for the Church of England Pensions Board. With most employers on or preparing to go on summer holidays, there were no immediate opportunities for Lee, who was sent to the French Riviera , where his sister was on holiday with friends. On his way there he stopped briefly in Paris, where he stayed with the journalist Webb Miller , a friend of Rose, and witnessed Eugen Weidmann 's execution by guillotine –
792-418: A later interview, Lee said he knew how to shoot but not how to ski and that he probably would not be alive if he had been allowed to go to the front line. Lee returned to work at United States Lines and found his work more satisfying, feeling that he was contributing. In early 1940, he joined Beecham's , at first as an office clerk, then as a switchboard operator. When Beecham's moved out of London, he joined
880-645: A mass murderer. He allies with Two-Face in Batman: No Man's Land and joins Alexander Luthor Jr. 's Secret Society of Super Villains in Infinite Crisis . The second Tally Man is an African-American enforcer and hitman working for the Great White Shark . Supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character . It is sometimes found in comic books and may possess superhuman abilities. A supervillain
968-613: A permanent base in Agnone Bagni. At the end of July 1943, Lee received his second promotion of the year, this time to flying officer . After the Sicilian campaign was over, Lee came down with malaria for the sixth time in under a year, and was flown to a hospital in Carthage for treatment. When he returned, the squadron was restless, frustrated with a lack of news about the Eastern Front and
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#17328585696661056-478: A preparatory school in Oxford, some of whose pupils later attended Eton . He continued acting in school plays, though "the laurels deservedly went to Patrick Macnee ." Lee applied for a scholarship to Eton, where his interview was in the presence of the ghost story author M.R. James . His poor maths skills meant that he was placed eleventh, and thus missed out on being a King's Scholar by one place. His step-father
1144-464: Is a rampant sex fiend, using that stare to make buxom ladies everywhere come over a little faint. — Empire magazine's entry for Lee's portrayal of Dracula as the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time. Lee's own appearance as Frankenstein's monster led to his first appearance as the Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula in the film Dracula (1958, known as Horror of Dracula in
1232-795: Is the antithesis of a superhero . Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to a superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or a skill set that allows them to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in a way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators , gangsters , mad scientists , trophy hunters , corrupt businesspeople , serial killers , and terrorists , often having an aspiration of world domination . The Joker , Lex Luthor , Doctor Doom , Magneto , Brainiac , Deathstroke ,
1320-577: The Inspector Gadget animated series, Dr. Evil and Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers film series , or Dr. Blowhole from the animated TV series The Penguins of Madagascar . The overarching villain of Star Wars , Emperor Palpatine , leads the tyrannical Galactic Empire , and was inspired by real-world tyrannical leaders. Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE CStJ (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015)
1408-660: The Lego The Hobbit video game released in April 2014; at 91 years and 316 days old he appears in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest video game narrator. In 2004, Lee lamented that Hollywood scripts were mainly spin-offs, as people were afraid of taking financial risks, commenting that he was mostly being offered spin-offs of Lord of the Rings or Star Wars . In 2010, he marked his fourth collaboration with Tim Burton by voicing
1496-776: The Nieuw Amsterdam . After "killing time" at RAF Kasfareet near the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal Zone in 1942, he resumed intelligence work in the city of Ismaïlia . He was then attached to No. 205 Group RAF before being commissioned at the end of January 1943, and attached to No. 260 Squadron RAF as an intelligence officer. As the North African Campaign progressed, the squadron "leapfrogged" between Egyptian airstrips, from RAF El Daba to Maaten Bagush and on to Mersa Matruh ; they lent air support to
1584-612: The Battle of Monte Cassino he was attached to the Gurkhas of the 8th Indian Infantry Division . While spending some time on leave in Naples , Lee climbed Mount Vesuvius , which erupted three days later . During the final assault on Monte Cassino, the squadron was based in San Angelo, and Lee was nearly killed when one of the planes crashed on takeoff, and he tripped over one of its live bombs. After
1672-585: The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan meant that he travelled on the Reina del Pacifico to South Africa, then to his posting at Hillside, at Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia . Training with de Havilland Tiger Moths , Lee was having his penultimate training session before his first solo flight, when he suffered from headaches and blurred vision. The medical officer hesitantly diagnosed
1760-589: The British National Studios . He said in 2006, "I was cast in various roles in 16 of them and even appeared with Buster Keaton and it proved an excellent training ground." The same year, he appeared in John Huston 's Oscar-nominated Moulin Rouge . Throughout the next decade, he made nearly 30 films , including The Cockleshell Heroes , playing mostly stock action characters. Lee's first film for Hammer
1848-564: The Green Goblin , Loki , the Reverse-Flash , Black Manta , Ultron , Thanos , and Darkseid are some notable male comic book supervillains that have been adapted in film and television. Some notable female supervillains are Catwoman , Harley Quinn , Poison Ivy , Mystique , Hela , Viper , and the Cheetah . Just like superheroes, supervillains are sometimes members of groups, such as
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#17328585696661936-718: The Home Guard . In the winter, his father fell ill with bilateral pneumonia and died on 12 March 1941. Realising that he had no inclination to follow his father into the Army, Lee decided to join up while he still had some choice of service, and volunteered for the Royal Air Force . Lee reported to RAF Uxbridge for training and was then posted to the Initial Training Wing at Paignton . After he had passed his exams in Liverpool ,
2024-786: The Injustice League , the Sinister Six , the Legion of Doom , the Brotherhood of Mutants , the Suicide Squad , and the Masters of Evil . In the documentary A Study in Sherlock , writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said they regarded Professor James Moriarty as a supervillain because he possesses genius-level intelligence and powers of observation and deduction, setting him above ordinary people to
2112-508: The Intelligence Corps , but it is unlikely he had any influence over Lee's military career. Lee saw his stepfather for the last time on a bus in London in 1940, after he was divorced from Lee's mother, and Lee did not speak to him. Returning to London in 1946, Lee was offered his old job back at Beecham's with a significant raise, but he turned them down as "I couldn't think myself back into
2200-742: The Jabberwock in Burton's adaptation of Lewis Carroll 's classic book Alice in Wonderland , alongside Johnny Depp , Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway . Lee respected Depp as "a fellow survivor", describing him as "inventive and [having] enormous versatility". In 2010, Lee received the Steiger Award (Germany) and, in February 2011, Lee was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship . In 2011, he appeared in
2288-499: The James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in three Star Wars films (2002–2008) and Saruman in both The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014). He frequently appeared opposite his friend Peter Cushing in horror films, and late in his career had roles in five Tim Burton films , including Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005), Charlie and
2376-684: The Mazowe Dam , Marandellas , the Wankie Game Reserve and the ruins of Great Zimbabwe . Thinking he should "do something constructive for my keep", he applied to join RAF Intelligence . His superiors praised his initiative, and he was seconded into the British South Africa Police and was posted as a warder at Salisbury Prison. He was then promoted to leading aircraftman . Leaving South Africa, he sailed from Durban to Suez on
2464-680: The No. 260 Squadron RAF during World War II as a liaison officer for the Special Operations Executive . He retired from the RAF in 1946 with the rank of flight lieutenant . Lee also sang, recorded opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 and worked with several heavy metal bands; he appeared on the albums Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010) and Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (2013). Lee
2552-678: The Second World War broke out in 1939, Lee had enrolled in a military academy and volunteered to fight for the Finnish Army against the Soviet Union during the Winter War . He and other British volunteers were kept away from the actual fighting, but they were issued with winter gear and were posted on guard duty a safe distance from the border. After two weeks in Finland, they returned home. In
2640-597: The 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time. CNN listed the performance third in their top 10 British villains, noting his "chilling, sonorous tone." Lee accepted a similar role in an Italian-French horror picture called Uncle Was a Vampire (1959). The same year he starred as Kharis in the Hammer Horror film The Mummy . Lee returned to the role of Dracula in Hammer's Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1965). Lee's role has no lines, he merely hisses his way through
2728-508: The Chocolate Factory (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dark Shadows (2012). Lee's other notable roles include The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), A Tale of Two Cities (1958), The Wicker Man (1973), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Jinnah (1998), Glorious 39 (2009) and Hugo (2011). Before his acting career, Lee served in the Royal Air Force as an intelligence officer, attached to
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2816-629: The Golden Gun (1974), in which he was cast as the assassin Francisco Scaramanga . Lee said of his performance, "In Fleming's novel he's just a West Indian thug, but in the film he's charming, elegant, amusing, lethal... I played him like the dark side of Bond." Because of his filming schedule in Bangkok , film director Ken Russell was unable to sign Lee to play the Specialist in Tommy (1975). That role
2904-659: The Grand Master of the Knights Templar , in the BBC/ A&;E co-production of Sir Walter Scott 's Ivanhoe (1997). Lee portrayed Saruman in Peter Jackson 's fantasy action epic The Lord of the Rings film trilogy . In the commentary, he stated that he had for decades dreamt of playing Gandalf . He conceded that he was now too old, and that his physical limitations prevented him from being considered; Ian McKellen , who
2992-621: The Leading Lady (1992). Lee and Peter Cushing appeared together in more than a dozen feature films together for Hammer Films, Amicus Productions , and other companies, as well as in Hamlet (1948) and Moulin Rouge (1952), albeit in separate scenes. They featured, too, in separate instalments of the Star Wars films: Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in the original film, and Lee decades later as Count Dooku . The last project which united them in person
3080-619: The Living Dead (1964) and Horror Express (1972). Lee was a producer of the horror film Nothing But the Night (1972), in which he starred. It was the first and last film he produced, as he did not enjoy the process. Lee appeared as the Comte de Rochefort in Richard Lester 's The Three Musketeers (1973). He injured his left knee during filming, something he still felt many years later. After
3168-625: The Mad Monk (1966) and Sir Henry Baskerville (to Cushing's Sherlock Holmes ) in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). Lee later played Holmes himself in 1962's Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace , and returned to Holmes films with Billy Wilder 's British-made The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), in which he plays Sherlock's smarter brother, Mycroft . Lee considers this film to be
3256-878: The Marquis of Sarzano, was an Italian political refugee; his wife, Lee's great-grandmother, was English-born opera singer Marie Carandini ( née Burgess). He had an elder sister, Xandra Carandini Lee (1917–2002). Lee's parents separated when he was four and divorced two years later. During this time, his mother took his sister and him to Wengen in Switzerland. After enrolling in Miss Fisher's Academy in Territet , he played his first role, as Rumpelstiltskin . They then returned to London, where Lee attended Wagner's private school in Queen's Gate , and his mother married Harcourt George St-Croix Rose,
3344-431: The Sith (2005). Lee acted opposite Hayden Christensen , Ewan McGregor , and Natalie Portman and did most of the swordplay himself, though a stunt double was required for the long shots with more vigorous footwork. In 2005, Lee played Dr. Wonka , father of Willy Wonka , in Tim Burton 's film adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . He also voiced Pastor Galswells in
3432-441: The Soviet Union in general, and with no mail from home or alcohol. Unrest spread and threatened to turn into mutiny. Lee, by now an expert on Russia, talked them into resuming their duties, which much impressed his commanding officer. After the Allied invasion of Italy , the squadron was based in Foggia and Termoli during the winter of 1943, where Lee was then seconded to the Army during an officers' swap scheme. During most of
3520-469: The US). The film saw Lee's "triumphant debut" fix the image of the fanged vampire in popular culture, according to writer Kevin Jackson . Dracula has been ranked among the best British films . Lee introduced a dark, brooding sexuality to the character, with Tim Stanley stating, "Lee's sensuality was subversive in that it hinted that women might quite like having their neck chewed on by a stud." The film magazine Empire ranked Lee's portrayal as Dracula
3608-416: The animated film Corpse Bride . In 2007, Lee collaborated with Burton again on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , playing the spirit of Sweeney Todd's victims, called the Gentleman Ghost, alongside Anthony Head , with both singing "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," its reprises and the Epilogue. These songs were recorded, but eventually cut since Burton felt that the songs were too theatrical for
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3696-416: The animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). Some thirty years after playing Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun , Lee provided the voice of Scaramanga in the video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent . In 2013, Lee voiced The Earl of Earl's Court in the BBC Radio 4 radio play Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman . Lee recorded special dialogue, in addition to serving as the Narrator, for
3784-416: The battle, the squadron moved to airfields just outside Rome, and Lee visited the city, where he met his mother's cousin, Nicolò Carandini , who had fought in the Italian resistance movement . In November 1944, Lee was promoted to flight lieutenant and left the squadron in Iesi to take up a posting at Air Force HQ. Lee took part in forward planning and liaison, in preparation for a potential assault into
3872-435: The cinema and there was my name. I was furious! There was a huge row. When I had left Spain that day everyone behind me had taken their clothes off! In addition to making films in the United Kingdom, Lee made films in mainland Europe: he appeared in two German films, Count Dracula (1970), where he again played the vampire count, and The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967). Other films in Europe he made include Castle of
3960-521: The director got around his height by placing him at a table in a nightclub alongside Lois Maxwell , Mavis Villiers , Hugh Latimer and John Penrose . Lee had a single line, "a satirical shaft meant to qualify the lead's bravura." In this early period, he made an uncredited appearance in Laurence Olivier 's film version of Hamlet (1948), as a spear carrier (his later co-star and close friend Peter Cushing played Osric ). A few years later, he appeared in Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) as
4048-460: The disaster spoof Airplane! (1980), a decision he later called "a big mistake." Lee played the mad scientist Dr. Catheter in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). In a nod to his role as Dracula in Hammer Films, as the Bat Gremlin transforms, Dr. Catheter experiences deja-vu – the audience hears Dracula music. Lee made his last appearances as Sherlock Holmes in the television films Incident at Victoria Falls (1991) and Sherlock Holmes and
4136-402: The early 1970s, both of which attempted to bring the character into the modern-day era. These were not commercially successful: Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). The latter film was tentatively titled Dracula Is Dead... and Well and Living in London , a parody of the stage and film musical revue Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris , but Lee
4224-579: The film Corridors of Blood (1958). Lee had previously appeared with Karloff in 1955 in the "At Night, All Cats are Grey" episode of the British television series Colonel March of Scotland Yard . Karloff and Lee were London neighbours for a time in the mid-1960s. Lee's Dracula is a force of nature: red-eyed, blood dripping from fangs, often in the grip of rage. He's hypnotic, physically powerful, well-spoken, but Lee also understood – crucially – that an important layer from Bram Stoker's novel had been missing from Lugosi's performance: sexuality. Lee's Dracula
4312-400: The film the best he had ever made. Lee appeared as the on-screen narrator in Jess Franco 's Eugenie (1970) as a favour to producer Harry Alan Towers , unaware that it was softcore pornography , as the sex scenes were shot separately. I had no idea that was what it was when I agreed to the role. I was told it was about the Marquis de Sade. I flew out to Spain for one day's work playing
4400-625: The film. Lee's appearance was completely cut from the film, but Head still had an uncredited one-line cameo. Also in 2007 he played the First High Councillor in The Golden Compass . In late November 2009, Lee narrated the Science Fiction Festival in Trieste , Italy. Also in 2009, Lee starred in Stephen Poliakoff 's British period drama Glorious 39 , Academy Award -nominated director Danis Tanović 's war film Triage , and Duncan Ward's comedy Boogie Woogie . During this time Lee provided voices for numerous films and video games. He spoke fluent English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German, and
4488-457: The film. Stories vary as to the reason for this: Lee states he refused to speak the poor dialogue he was given, but screenwriter Jimmy Sangster claims that the script did not contain any lines for the character. This film set the standard for most of the Dracula sequels in the sense that half the film's running time was spent on telling the story of Dracula's resurrection and the character's appearances were brief. Lee went on record to state that he
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#17328585696664576-517: The films Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), and Scars of Dracula (1970) all gave the Count very little to do. Lee said in an interview in 2005, "all they do is write a story and try and fit the character in somewhere, which is very clear when you see the films. They gave me nothing to do! I pleaded with Hammer to let me use some of the lines that Bram Stoker had written. Occasionally, I sneaked one in." He starred in two further Dracula films for Hammer in
4664-400: The films had deteriorated in quality. In all, Lee played Dracula ten times: seven films for Hammer Productions, once for Jesús Franco 's Count Dracula (1970), uncredited in Jerry Lewis 's One More Time (1970) and Édouard Molinaro 's Dracula and Son (1976) (he also played an unnamed but Dracula-like vampire in The Magic Christian [1969]). Lee portrayed Rasputin in Rasputin,
4752-432: The final film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , was cut from the theatrical release, but the scene was reinstated in the extended edition. The Lord of the Rings marked the beginning of a major career revival that continued with the role of the villainous Count Dooku in the George Lucas directed Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of
4840-412: The ground forces and bombed strategic targets. Lee, "broadly speaking, was expected to know everything." The Allied advance continued into Libya, through Tobruk and Benghazi to the Marble Arch and then through El Agheila , Khoms and Tripoli , with the squadron averaging five missions a day. As the advance continued into Tunisia, with the Axis forces digging themselves in at the Mareth Line , Lee
4928-416: The idea, and after assuaging his mother's protests by pointing to the successful Carandini performers in Australia (which included his great-grandmother Marie Carandini , who had been an opera singer), he met Nicolò's friend Filippo Del Giudice , a lawyer-turned-film producer and head of Two Cities Films , part of the Rank Organisation . Lee recalled that Giudice "looked me up and down" and "concluded that I
5016-419: The last public execution performed in France. Arriving in Menton , he stayed with the Russian Mazirov family, living among exiled princely families . It was arranged that he should remain in Menton after his sister had returned home, but with Europe on the brink of war , he returned to London instead. He worked as an office clerk for United States Lines , taking care of the mail and running errands. When
5104-435: The mid-1970s, Lee eschewed horror roles almost entirely. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels and Lee's step-cousin, had offered him the role of the titular antagonist in the first Eon-produced Bond film Dr. No (1962). Lee enthusiastically accepted, but by the time Fleming told the producers, they had already chosen Joseph Wiseman for the role. Lee finally got to play a James Bond villain in The Man with
5192-402: The office frame of mind." The Armed Forces were sending veterans with an education in the Classics to teach at universities, but Lee felt his Latin was too rusty and didn't care for the strict curfews. During lunch with his cousin Nicolò Carandini , now the Italian Ambassador to Britain, Lee was detailing his war wounds when Carandini said, "Why don't you become an actor, Christopher?" Lee liked
5280-533: The one thing that's so vitally important today – I watched, I listened and I learned. So when the time came I was ready... Oddly enough, to play a character who said nothing [The Creature in The Curse of Frankenstein ]. Somlo sent him to see Rank's David Henley and Olive Dodds, who signed him on a seven-year contract. Like other students at Rank's " Charm School ," Lee had difficulty finding work. He finally made his film début in 1948, in Terence Young 's Gothic romance Corridor of Mirrors . He played Charles;
5368-403: The organisation, Lee said: "We were given dossiers of what they'd done and told to find them, interrogate them as much as we could and hand them over to the appropriate authority". He completed his service with the RAF in 1946 with the rank of flight lieutenant. Lee said that during the war he was attached to special forces, but declined to give details. Lee's stepfather served as a captain in
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#17328585696665456-541: The parades and weapons training and would always "play dead" as soon as possible during mock battles. Lee was frequently beaten at school, including once at Wellington for "being beaten too often," though he accepted them as "logical and therefore acceptable" punishments for knowingly breaking the rules. At age 17, and with one year left at Wellington, the summer term of 1939 was his last. His step-father had gone bankrupt, owing £25,000 (equivalent to £1,957,809 in 2023). His mother separated from Rose, and Lee had to get
5544-431: The part of a narrator. I had to wear a crimson dinner jacket. There were lots of people behind me. They all had their clothes on. There didn't seem to be anything peculiar or strange. A friend said: 'Do you know you are in a film in Old Compton Street ?' In those days that was where the mackintosh brigade watched their films . 'Very funny,' I said. So I crept along there heavily disguised in dark glasses and scarf, and found
5632-700: The point where only he can pose a credible threat to Sherlock Holmes . Fu Manchu is an archetypal evil criminal genius and mad scientist created by English author Sax Rohmer in 1913. The Fu Manchu moustache became integral to stereotypical cinematic and television depictions of Chinese villains. Between 1965 and 1969 Christopher Lee played Fu Manchu five times in film, and in 1973 the character first appeared in Marvel Comics . The James Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (whose scenes often show him sitting on an armchair stroking his cat, his face unseen) has influenced supervillain tropes in popular cinema, including parodies like Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat from
5720-436: The project. Shaffer had a series of conversations with Hardy, and the two decided that it would be fun to make a horror film centring on "old religion," in sharp contrast to the popular Hammer films of the day. Shaffer read the David Pinner novel Ritual , in which a devout Christian policeman is called to investigate what appears to be the ritual murder of a young girl in a rural village, and decided that it would serve well as
5808-410: The reason he stopped being typecast: "I've never been typecast since. Sure, I've played plenty of heavies, but as Anthony Hopkins says, "I don't play villains, I play people."" Lee played a leading role in the German film The Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962), speaking German, which he had learned during his education in Switzerland. He auditioned for a part in the film The Longest Day (1962), but
5896-457: The role in the Sky1 live action adaptation The Colour of Magic , taking over from the late Ian Richardson . He provided the voice for the role of Ansem the Wise / DiZ in video games including Kingdom Hearts II . Lee reprised his role as Saruman in the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth . He narrated and sang for the Danish musical group The Tolkien Ensemble's 2003 studio album At Dawn in Rivendell , taking
5984-508: The role of Treebeard , King Théoden and others in the readings or singing of their respective poems or songs. In 2007, he voiced the transcript of The Children of Húrin by J. R. R. Tolkien for the audiobook version of the novel. In 2005, Lee provided the voice of Pastor Galswells in The Corpse Bride , co-directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson . He served as the narrator on The Nightmare Before Christmas poem, also written by Tim Burton as well. Lee reprised his role as Count Dooku in
6072-409: The role of Saruman for the prequel film The Hobbit . He said he would have liked to have shown Saruman's corruption by Sauron , but was too old to travel to New Zealand, so the production was adjusted to allow him to participate from London. In 2012, Lee marked his fifth and final collaboration with Tim Burton, by appearing in Burton's film adaptation of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows , in
6160-435: The rumoured German Alpine Fortress . After the war ended, Lee was invited to go hunting near Vienna and was then billeted in Pörtschach am Wörthersee . For the final few months of his service, Lee, who spoke fluent French, Italian and German, among other languages, was seconded to the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects . Here, he was tasked with helping to track down Nazi war criminals. Of his time with
6248-496: The second film, To the Devil a Daughter (1976), was troubled by production difficulties and was disowned by its author. Although financially successful, it was Hammer's last horror film. Critic Leonard Maltin described it as "well-made but lacking punch". Like Cushing, Lee also appeared in horror films for other companies from 1957 to 1977. These included the Dr. Fu Manchu series of films made between 1965 and 1969 (beginning with The Face of Fu Manchu ) in which he starred as
6336-589: The small role of a New England fishing captain. In an interview in August 2013, Lee said that he was "saddened" to hear his friend Johnny Depp was considering retiring from acting, observing that he himself had no intention of doing that: There are frustrations – people who lie to you, people who don't know what they are doing, films that don't turn out the way you had wanted them to – so, yes, I do understand [why Depp would consider retiring]. I always ask myself, "Well, what else could I do?" Making films has never just been
6424-447: The source material for the project. Shaffer and Lee paid Pinner £15,000 (equivalent to US$ 267,804 in 2023) for the rights to the novel, and Schaffer set to work on the screenplay. However, he soon decided that a direct adaptation would not work well, and began to craft a new story, using only the novel's basic outline. Lee was so keen to get the film made, and the budget was so small, that he gave his services for free. He later called
6512-704: The villain in yellowface make-up; I, Monster (1971), an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson 's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , with the main characters' names changed to Dr. Charles Marlowe and Mr. Edward Blake; The Creeping Flesh (1972); and his personal favourite, which he considered his best film, The Wicker Man (1973), in which he played Lord Summerisle. Lee wanted to break free of his image as Dracula and take on more interesting acting roles. He met with screenwriter Anthony Shaffer , and they agreed to work together. Film director Robin Hardy and British Lion head Peter Snell became involved in
6600-443: Was The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), in which he played Frankenstein's monster , with Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein . It was the first film to co-star Lee and Cushing, who ultimately appeared together in over twenty films and became close friends. When he arrived at a casting session for the film, "they asked me if I wanted the part, I said yes and that was that." A little later, Lee co-starred with Boris Karloff in
6688-531: Was a documentary, Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994), which they jointly narrated, two months before Cushing's death. Lee considered his best performance to be in this period, when he played Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998). Lee had many television roles. These included the role Flay in the BBC television miniseries Gormenghast (2000) based on Mervyn Peake 's novels. He also appeared as Lucas de Beaumanoir,
6776-840: Was almost killed when the squadron's airfield was bombed. After breaking through the Mareth Line , the squadron made their final base in Kairouan ; following the Axis surrender in North Africa in May 1943, the squadron moved to Zuwarah in Libya in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily . They then moved to Malta , and, after its capture by the British Eighth Army , the Sicilian town of Pachino , before making
6864-536: Was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horror and franchise films. Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013. Lee gained fame for portraying Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films. His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in
6952-602: Was born on 27 May 1922 in Belgravia , London, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee (1879–1941) of the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps , and his wife, Countess Estelle Marie (née Carandini di Sarzano ; 1889–1981). Lee's father fought in the Boer War and First World War , and his mother was an Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery , Oswald Birley , and Olive Snell , and sculpted by Clare Sheridan . Lee's maternal great-grandfather, Jerome Carandini ,
7040-622: Was eventually given to Jack Nicholson . In an AMC documentary on Halloween (1978), John Carpenter states that he offered the role of Samuel Loomis to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, before Donald Pleasence took the role. Years later, Lee told Carpenter that the biggest regret of his career was not taking the role of Dr. Loomis. In 1977, Lee left the UK for the US, concerned at being typecast in horror films, as had happened to his close friends Peter Cushing and Vincent Price . His first American appearance
7128-575: Was in his early-60s, was cast in the role alongside Lee, in his mid-70s. The role of Saruman, unlike that of Gandalf, required no horse riding and far less fighting. Lee had met J. R. R. Tolkien once, which made him the only person involved in Peter Jackson's films to have done so. He made a habit of reading the novels at least once a year. In addition, he performed for The Tolkien Ensemble 's album At Dawn in Rivendell in 2003. Lee's appearance in
7216-514: Was in the disaster film Airport '77 (1977). In 1978, Lee surprised many people with his willingness to go along with a joke, appearing as guest host on NBC's Saturday Night Live . Steven Spielberg , who was in the audience for that show, cast him in 1941 (1979). Meanwhile, Lee co-starred with Bette Davis in the Disney film Return from Witch Mountain (1978). He turned down the role of Dr. Barry Rumack (finally played by Leslie Nielsen ) in
7304-420: Was just what the industry had been looking for." He was sent to see Josef Somlo for a contract: Initially, I was told [by Somlo] I was too tall to be an actor. That's a quite fatuous remark to make. It's like saying you're too short to play the piano. I thought, "Right, I'll show you..." At the beginning I didn't know anything about the technique of working in front of a camera, but during those 10 years, I did
7392-676: Was moderately proficient in Swedish, Russian, and Greek. He was the original voice of Thor in the German dubs of the Danish 1986 animated film Valhalla , and of King Haggard in both the English and German dubs of the 1982 animated adaptation of The Last Unicorn . He provided all the voices for the English dub of Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953). He voiced Death in the animated versions of Terry Pratchett 's Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters , and reprised
7480-476: Was not amused. Speaking at a press conference in 1973 to announce the film, Lee said, "I'm doing it under protest. I think it is fatuous. I can think of twenty adjectives – fatuous, pointless, absurd. It's not a comedy, but it's got a comic title. I don't see the point." The Satanic Rites of Dracula was the last Dracula film in which Lee played the Dracula role, as he felt he had played the part too many times and that
7568-460: Was not prepared to pay the higher fees that being an Oppidan Scholar meant, so instead he attended Wellington College , where he won scholarships in the classics , studying Ancient Greek and Latin . Aside from a "tiny part" in a school play, he did not act while at Wellington. He was a "passable" racquets player and fencer and a competent cricketer but did not do well at the other sports played: hockey, football, rugby and boxing. He disliked
7656-471: Was turned down because he did not "look like a military man." Some film books incorrectly credit him with a role in the film, something he had to correct for the rest of his life. Lee's friend the author Dennis Wheatley was responsible for bringing the occult to him. The company made two films from Wheatley's novels, both starring Lee. The New York Times described Lee's performance in the first, The Devil Rides Out (1967), as "suave dignity". However,
7744-484: Was virtually "blackmailed" by Hammer into starring in the subsequent films; unable or unwilling to pay him his going rate, they would resort to reminding him of how many people he would put out of work if he did not take part: The process went like this: The telephone would ring and my agent would say, " Jimmy Carreras [President of Hammer Films] has been on the phone, they've got another Dracula for you." And I would say, "Forget it! I don't want to do another one." I'd get
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