Portal:Horror/Selected biography archive/June 2007
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE (born May 27, 1922) is an English actor known for his professional longevity and his distinctive basso delivery.
Lee is known for his portrayals of villains; he became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man, Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith as well as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Lee's most recent film is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where he plays Willy Wonka's candy-hating dentist father. At six feet five inches, he is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records for the world's tallest leading actor, a record he shares with Vince Vaughn, and just beating Stephen Fry (Wilde) by ½ an inch. Despite a critically acclaimed career that spans over seven decades, he has never been nominated for an Academy Award.
Lee was born in London in 1922, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee of the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps, and the Marchesina Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano, whose grandfather had been an Italian political refugee who had sought refuge in Australia. Lee's mother was a famous Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery, as well as Oswald Birley and Olive Snell, and was sculpted by Clare Sheridan, a cousin of Winston Churchill.
His parents separated when he was very young and his mother took Christopher and his sister Xandra to Switzerland, where Christopher was enrolled in Miss Fisher's Academy in Wengen and he played his first villainous role as Rumpelstiltskin. The family returned to London where Christopher attended Wagner's private school. His mother then married Harcourt 'Ingle' Rose, a banker and uncle of the James Bond author Ian Fleming. Lee then attended Wellington College, where he won scholarships in classics. He volunteered to fight for the Finnish forces during the Winter War against the Soviet Union in 1939 - though, as Lee admits in his autobiography, he and his fellow British volunteers were in Finland only a fortnight and kept well away from the Russian forces the whole time. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force and intelligence during World War II. He trained in South Africa as a pilot but was forced to drop out by eyesight problems. He eventually ended up in North Africa as Cipher Officer for No. 260 Squadron RAF and was with them through Sicily and Italy. Additionally, he has mentioned serving in Special Operations Executive. Lee retired from the RAF after the end of the War with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. (continued)
