Known and will be forever remembered as an icon of the film industry, the achievements of Sir Christopher Lee as an actor put him on a pedestal of Hollywood folklore.
He spent most of his adult life in a good number of notable movies playing such memorable characters as Count Dracula in Dracula, Kharis in The Mummy, Frankenstein in The Curse of Frankenstein, Rasputin in Rasputin, the Mad Monk, Count Dooku in Star Wars, and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Lee’s acting career was sprinkled with honors, and his military records were equally mindboggling.
He was once assigned to Special Operations Executive, otherwise known as Churchill’s Secret Army.
The undisputed master of horrors died on June 7, 2015, at the age of 93, for respiratory problems and heart failure at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.
The British actor had all the characteristics of an excellent movie star from his distinguished good looks, heavy, resounding Shakespearean voice, and unmistakable aristocratic presence.
Lee had more than 150 film credits from 1948 to 2018, including three posthumous releases and 60 television roles.
10 /10 A Clerk For United States Line
Through birth and education, young Christopher Lee seemed to be a likely candidate for diplomatic leader. Lee’s father was Geoffrey Trollope Lee, a much-decorated lieutenant colonel in World War I.
His mother was Countess Estelle Marie, whose linage could be traced back to the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne.
Lee’s education at Wellington College in Berkshire came abruptly when he was 17 due to family financial problems.
Upon returning to London, he found employment as a clerk for the United States Line. The job didn’t pay a lot, but the money was enough to get him by.
9 /10 From Clerk To Intelligent Officer
The beginning of World War II also was the turning point of Lee’s life.
During the war, he moved from one front to another, especially after being assigned as an intelligence officer with an RAF squadron in Italy and North Africa.
He was never allowed to fly as a pilot due to psychological trauma in training. As a civilian, Lee’s work as an actor required him to fly almost constantly in later life.
While most of them were probably first-class, the RAF flight lieutenant only passed as a passenger.