Almost one could have believe the legendary movie vampire is actually immortal. But at the age of 93 years the final curtain has fallen for Sir Christopher Lee. It’s the end of an unprecedented exception career. .
In 68 years Lee has been involved in more than 280 film projects, and wrote this more than once cinema history
early: first villain role in the school play
Christopher Lee was born on May 27, 1922 in London, the son of the British officer Geoffrey Trollope Lee and his wife Estelle Marie, an Italian countess. His parents separated when he was four years old, the mother initially then moved with Lee and his sister Xandra in Switzerland. There he played in a school play his first role – and even then as a villain: Rumpelstiltskin. Later, the mother returned to England and had married again, Lee attended Wellington College, which he was forced to leave after the bankruptcy of his stepfather in 1939.
At the beginning of World War II, Lee reported as a volunteer in the Finnish army, which after two weeks, however, sent him back home. In 1941 he joined the Royal Air Force, the war led Lee as an intelligence officer in North Africa, Italy and Austria. After the war, he spent the last months of his military service with the tracking down Nazi war criminals. Back in London he had passed the desire to the previously occurred office job. His cousin Nicolò Carandini, the Italian Ambassador to the UK, then gave him the idea of becoming an actor. The maternal branch of Lee’s family had already produced some talents in the field.
A new star in the horror heavens
For ten years, Lee struck with small supporting roles through before 1957 the breakthrough with his first horror role for the legendary Hammer Studios had: The actor was perfect for the role of the monster in “The Curse of Frankenstein” 
Countless times Lee in the years to Dracula and other characters from the classic horror repertoire, including Jekyll and Hyde, the undead mummy, the mad monk Rasputin and the Chinese supervillain Fu Manchu 
horror without end
The horror roles were Lee often contrary, since he -.? Quite rightly – feared urged forever in this corner to become. The Hammer Studios had “blackmailed emotionally” him to play the Vampirfüsten again and again, Lee explained later. On top of the hammer productions were always trashy. Even in the “Dracula” sequel “Dracula: Prince of Darkness” (1965), Lee refused to believe the script, also speaking only one line of his dialogues – the bloodsuckers therefore remained silent throughout the film. Also from the idea to bring Dracula in later episodes into the present, Lee held very little, which is why he in 1972 hung the vampire cape on the nail
Lee strove anyway after demanding -. Though often more villainous – roles. True to his taste were about Lord Summerisle in “The Wicker Man” (1973) 
A magical comeback
In 2001, Lee then the big blockbuster comeback, of course, again as Rogue: The renegade wizard Saruman he answered in “The Lord of the Rings” 
After all, he could as Count Dooku in the “Star Wars” episodes II III and most of his lightsaber battles still rotate itself. On retirement he never thought anyway: As Johnny Depp about 2013 toyed with the idea to abandon the film business, told Lee that he could understand his younger colleagues – for him that would, however, not in question, because the acting was his purpose in life.
See the adventure film “The Devil Pirate” with Christopher Lee in full length free on MyVideo
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