In Remembrance of Sir Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee recently passed away. It should not have been a surprise; he had just celebrated his 93rd birthday after all. But somehow it's always shocking to learn that someone has passed, regardless of their age or health. And for someone who had lived a full life and been an incredible actor, it's especially disheartening to hear of his passing.

Lee was born in 1922, right after the end of World War I. His early history is rather fascinating. His mother was a Contessa, he met various Kings and Princes from multiple countries, and he became the step-cousin of Ian Fleming, author of James Bond, through his mother's second marriage. By the time World War II was starting, Lee was an adult and old enough to fight. He volunteered to fight for the Finnish in the Winter War of 1939 but the volunteers were kept away from the fighting. However he did eventually see action, in South Africa and Italy. He was a part of RAF Intelligence and what would become the SAS. When asked about what he did, he often remarked that he was part of Special Forces and would let people draw their own conclusions. Lee did assist with searching for Nazi war criminals and saw some of the concentration camps. 

"I've seen many men die right in front of me - so many in fact that I've become almost hardened to it. Having seen the worst that human beings can do to each other, the results of torture, mutilation and seeing someone blown to pieces by a bomb, you develop a kind of shell. But you had to. You had to. Otherwise, we would never have won." 

It was after the war that Lee began pursuing an acting career. For a while it was a struggle for him; at 6'5" he was frequently taller than the leading actors. But as we all know, his career eventually took off. Lee was a brilliant actor, and an even better villain. From Dracula to Count Dooku to Saruman, most of his roles were as the villain. And while it may have been typecasting, he was perfect for it. His deep, distinctive voice lent itself wonderfully to dark characters. Throughout his career, Lee appeared in over 200 movies (the exact number is somewhere around 280). He worked with many icons over the years: Peter Cushing, Tim Burton, Vincent Price, Peter Jackson. Many who have worked with Lee have expressed recently how deeply they will miss him and how special he was as a person. 

And he was special. Of the people who worked on The Lord of the Rings, Lee was the only person to have ever met J.R.R. Tolkien. He was a huge fan of the books and read them almost every year. Not only was Lee an actor, at one point he wanted to do opera. He may not have, but he did release a few metal albums, mostly about Charlemagne but also a few metal Christmas songs. He lived a long life and accomplished many things. It's sad that he has passed but he will be remembered fondly by his family, friends, and fans. 

"I don't want to sound gloomy, but, at some point of your lives, every one of you will notice that you have in your life one person, one friend whom you love and care for very much. That person is so close to you that you are able to share some things only with him. For example, you can call that friend, and from the very first maniacal laugh or some other joke you will know who is at the other end of that line. We used to do that with him so often. And then when that person is gone, there will be nothing like that in your life every again."

Lee on his friendship with Peter Cushing