Iconic British actor Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93. According to reports, the Dracula and Lord of the Rings actor passed away over the weekend in London. Over the last few years of his life, Lee released heavy metal albums.
In addition to his acclaimed work in film, Lee also recorded various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 and the symphonic metal album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010. Lee’s Charlemagne: The Omens of Death was released in 2013, he was honoured with the “Spirit of Metal” award in the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden God awards ceremony, and provided spoken word treatment to the music of Manowar. He also brought some heavy metal flair to the Christmas season.
Listen to some of Lee’s musical efforts after the obit jump from the Guardian…
The veteran actor, best known for a variety of films from Dracula to The Wicker Man through to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, passed away on Sunday morning at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, according to sources.
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 over 50 years. As well as his career in film, Lee also released a series of heavy metal albums, including Charlemagne: The Omens of Death. He was knighted in 2009 for services to drama and charity and was awarded the Bafta fellowship in 2011.
His film career started in 1947 with a role in gothic romance Corridor of Mirrors but it wasn’t until the late 50s, when Lee worked with Hammer, that he started gaining fame. His first role with the studio was The Curse of Frankenstein and it was the first of 20 films that he made with Peter Cushing, who also became a close friend. “Hammer was an important part of my life, and generally speaking, we all had a lot of fun,” he said in a 2001 interview.
Lee’s most famous role for Hammer was playing Dracula, a role which became one of his most widely recognised although the actor wasn’t pleased with how the character was treated. “They gave me nothing to do!” he told Total Film in 2005. “I pleaded with Hammer to let me use some of the lines that Bram Stoker had written. Occasionally, I sneaked one in. Eventually I told them that I wasn’t going to play Dracula any more. All hell broke loose.”
Listen to Lee’s metal selections below…