LornaHansonForbes Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Christopher Lee dies aged 93 just now | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news » The veteran actor died on Sunday after being hospitalised for respiratory problems and heart failure. Sir Christopher Lee has died, according to sources close to his family. He was 93. The veteran actor died on Sunday (June 7) at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London following respiratory problems and heart failure. Lee had more than 280 film and television credits to his name but was best known for his role as Count Dracula in a string of popular Hammer Horror films, James Bond villain Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) and more recently Saruman in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He also featured in the final two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The decision to release the news days after was based on his wife’s desire to inform family members first. The couple had been married for more than 50 years. Lee still has one film yet to be released Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LornaHansonForbes Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Dang. Knew it had to happen sometime. Love how the obit ends with "he has one film to be released..." The dude had Michael Caine beat by a country mile when it came to working: 280 films to his credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LornaHansonForbes Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 The touching music in the inevitable TCM Remembers spot is gonna be oddly juxtaposed with images like this: http://img.aullidos.com/imagenes/varios/christopher-lee-dracula.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton_Keyes Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Of interest is the following bit of trivia: Lee holds an Academy Awards record as the actor with the longest span of time between appearances in Oscar-winning best pictures. He appeared uncredited in Olivier's HAMLET, which took home the prize in 1948 and co-starred as Saruman in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, which snagged the best picture Oscar 55 years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LornaHansonForbes Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Here is the RECENTLY RESTORED ending to HORROR OF DRACULA, which contains footage thought to be lost that was included in the Japanese release of the film- The Count's death scene is now longer and more graphic (something like 20 seconds not seen in the American version.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Here is the RECENTLY RESTORED ending to HORROR OF DRACULA, which contains footage thought to be lost that was included in the Japanese release of the film- The Count's death scene is now longer and more graphic (something like 20 seconds not seen in the American version.) I saw this restoration no the big screen in London a while ago. If you play Lorna's clip you may notice some interesting things going on with the soundtrack. No sound of footsteps when Dracula ascends the stairs or runs across the hall. When Helsing enters it is clomp, clomp, clomp as one would expect. And Christopher Lee's grotesque death sounds really help sell the somewhat cheesy shots of the body disintegrating. A really wonderful restoration. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr6666 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 RIP to Lord Saruman from LOTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I wish I could find this whole episode. I recall the SNL crew created three "horror" skits, one of which had John Belushi as an insufferable party guest in "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave." Come to think of it ... oh, never mind. Lee was a fine actor, and the best Dracula in my opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Kimble Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I guess it says something about me that whenever I hear about Christopher Lee, the first thing I think of is his hosting SNL in the '70s and complaining about a cheap horror film he'd just made: The Creature From The Black Studies Program. 93 is quite a run RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Sad news. I didnt realize he was that old....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I wish I could find this whole episode. I recall the SNL crew created three "horror" skits, one of which had John Belushi as an insufferable party guest in "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave." Come to think of it ... oh, never mind. Lee was a fine actor, and the best Dracula in my opinion. LOL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
film lover 293 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Just two more films among his many films I especially like: The Wicker Man (1973)--a London girl is missing, & Christopher Lee is head (Lord Summerisle) of the island where she was last seen. Edward Nortons' character, a devout Christian, is sent to find her. Chilling film that is sunny at its start, grows darker as film progresses. Ending packs a wallop. Had to search to find 15 years ago--don't know if it's on DVD or not. The Three Musketeers--Lee shows his sense of humor in this remake. Very enjoyable film. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Kimble Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I wish I could find this whole episode. I recall the SNL crew created three "horror" skits, one of which had John Belushi as an insufferable party guest in "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave." There was a My Fair Lady spoof where Lee played Henry Higgins, who tries to teach proper English to... Barbara Walters. At one point Babs says she's going to quit and "marry Freddie Silverman".* Higgins is horrified: "Marry Freddie???" *Actually she says, "Mawwy Fweddie Sivvaman" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 LOL. I miss Bawba Wawa.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LornaHansonForbes Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 There was a My Fair Lady spoof where Lee played Henry Higgins, who tries to teach proper English to... Barbara Walters. At one point Babs says she's going to quit and "marry Freddie Silverman".* Higgins is horrified: "Marry Freddie???" *Actually she says, "Mawwy Fweddie Sivvaman" Oh, that's pretty damn funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I wish I could find this whole episode. I recall the SNL crew created three "horror" skits, one of which had John Belushi as an insufferable party guest in "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave." Come to think of it ... oh, never mind. Lee was a fine actor, and the best Dracula in my opinion. OOPS! I brought up Lee's SNL appearance in Ron Moody's thread! I recall all those "mock" horror picture trailers. MY favorite was--- "Dr. Jekyll and MISTER ROGERS"! Also, in a skit with Gilda Radner where Lee, portraying the Grim Reaper explains why he had to "take" her beloved pet dog. He explains he's "taken" a lot of loved people. She asked about her grandma, and he said 'yes", and asking about other people, he also answered in the affirmative, until she asked , "Did you kill JESUS, too?" He quickly said, "No! THAT was the ROMANS!" Sepiatone 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LornaHansonForbes Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Again, really looking forward to the TCM Remembers tribute. Going to be interesting to see how they approach it. Another interesting image to imagine unfolding in sepia-tone as the gentle dirge music plays on: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Recently in the Basil Rathbone thread there was some great contributions from Tom and Nakano about Basil's fencing skills. Rathbone took particular pride in being able to out fence people even in his advanced years. There is a very good interview with Lee in the Three/Four Musketeers dvd set where he proudly says very much the same thing. That he was required to fence with actors just about half his age in that film. You may recall that the final duel in Four Musketeers goes on and on and on requiring great stamina I'm sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LornaHansonForbes Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film401 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Sad to hear. Another with true talent has passed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primosprimos Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 So has Robert Chartoff. And he wasn't old, only 81. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
film lover 293 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Chartoff was a producer, am I right? Did "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (1969), & New York, New York (1977)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieMadness Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 A very talented actor, I only hope they let the bat fly out of the hospital room without killing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Again, really looking forward to the TCM Remembers tribute. Going to be interesting to see how they approach it. Another interesting image to imagine unfolding in sepia-tone as the gentle dirge music plays on: Wonder if they consider him a big enough star to offer a film tribute? Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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