Veteran actor, Sir Christopher Lee, has died at the age of 93 after a long battle with respiratory disease and heart failure. He passed away in hospital on Sunday morning following three weeks of treatment.
The news was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. “I can confirm we issued a death certificate on June 8. Mr Christopher Lee died on June 7th,” they said.
The actor found fame in the Hammer Horror films before becoming known to a new generation through his role in fantasy blockbusters. He is best known for his portrayal of Dracula in a series of classic films produced by Hammer Horror,and as the Bond villain Scaramanga in 1974’s The Man With the Golden Gun, starring Mr Moore.
More recently, Lee won over a new generation of fans through his roles as wizard Saruman in director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).
Watch Sir Christopher Lee’s final message to fans below.
“What’s really important for me is, as an old man, I’m known by my own generation and the next generation know me too,” he once said in an interview. The flood of tributes from fans, colleagues and politicians suggests his legacy will certainly not be forgotten anytime soon.
UK Prime minister David Cameron tweeted, “Saddened to hear of Sir Christopher Lee’s death, a titan of Golden Age of Cinema & distinguished WW2 veteran who’ll be greatly missed”.
London mayor Boris Johnson also remembered the actor fondly, writing on Twitter, “Really sad to hear about the death of Christopher Lee, one of the greatest British actors and a master of the macabre.”
Lee’s Bond co-star Roger Moore said: “It’s terrible when you lose an old friend, and Christopher Lee was one of my oldest. We first met in 1948.”
Sir Christopher was married for 54 years to Birgit Kroencke, a Danish former model. He is survived by her and their daughter, Christina.
RIP Christopher. You were a great, well-loved, actor and gentleman.
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