Famous Actor Christopher Lee Dies

Christopher Lee, the renowned English actor best recognized for his roles in The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, has died at the age of 93. According to Entertainment Weekly, the retired actor passed away on Sunday due to respiratory problems and heart failure. Adam B. Vary of EW also took a moment to reflect on Lee’s diverse and celebrated career,

“Lee experienced a career renaissance in the 2000s thanks to key roles in two massive Hollywood trilogies: He played the wizard Saruman in The Lord of the Rings saga (and played the role again in Peter Jackson’s Rings prequel trilogy, The Hobbit), and the Sith lord Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels. In 2009, Lee received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. At the time, the actor noted, ‘To be a legend, you’ve either got to be dead, or excessively old.’”

“Lee’s last major onscreen appearance came in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. He was cast alongside Uma Thurman in the forthcoming The 11th, but that film is not scheduled for release until next year. In his later years, he also expressed an interest in heavy metal, even releasing a Christmas album of songs in the genre.”

“’At my age, the most important thing for me is to keep active by doing things that I truly enjoy,’ Lee said in an interview about his musical passions last year.”

*Image courtasy of Wikimedia Commons

**Published 6/11/2015