The renowned actor died in hospital on Sunday, with the British media reporting he was there for the past three weeks while being treated for respiratory problems and heart failure.
“I can confirm we issued a death certificate on June 8. Mr Christopher Lee died on June 7th,” a spokesperson said for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London.
His agent in an emailed statement said his family “wishes to make no comment.”
Christopher was an industry legend and was knighted in 2009. The actor is survived by his former-Danish model wife of more than 50 years, Birgit “Gitte” Kroencke and their daughter Christina.
Christopher with his wife of more than 50 years, Birgit.
Born in 1922, the BAFTA winner featured in over 280 films and began his career in 1947.
Some of the screen icon’s most notable work includes his portrayal of Count Dracula in a series of films from the late ’50s to the late ’70s, playing the evil wizard Saruman the White in the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit franchise and Count Dooku in Star Wars.
In the wake of the silver screen heavyweight’s passing, fans of Lord of The Rings uncovered an interview from 2003 where Christopher recounts meeting J.R.R. Tolkien, the legendary mind and author behind the books that inspired the Peter Jackson franchise.
As the legendary Saruman the White in the blockbuster trilogies Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
“[I met him] quite by chance, really,” he recalled in the interview. “I met him with a group of other people in a pub in Oxford he used to go to, The Eagle and Child. I was very much in awe of him, as you can imagine, so I just said, ‘How do you do?’”
“I still think The Lord of the Rings is the greatest literary achievement in my lifetime,” he said.
“Like so many other people, I couldn’t wait for the second, and then the third book. Nothing like it had ever been written.”
Out of the six films spurred from J.R.R Tolkien’s imagination, Christopher was the only actor to have met the author.
Tributes for the 93-year-old have poured in from fans and celebrities alike, including LOTR co-star Elijah Wood, James Franco and many more.
One of the first to pay tribute to Christopher was James Bond actor, Roger Moore.
“It’s terribly [sad] when you lose an old friend, and Christopher Lee was one of my oldest. We first met in 1948.” He tweeted.
George Lucas, who directed Christopher in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, said: “Christopher was a great British actor of the old school. A true link to cinema’s past and a real gentleman. We will miss him.”
A man of many talents, Christopher released a heavy metal album on his 92nd birthday.
“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 said.
Touching tributes flow on twitter.
