Screen legend and a towering presence in cinema, Sir Christopher Lee passed away at the age of 93 on 7 June, 2015, after being hospitalized at London’s Chelsea and Westminster hospital for respiratory problems.
Sir Christopher Lee, who has starred in almost 300 movies in his 7 decade long career, including “The Lord Of The Rings”, “Star Wars”, “Dracula”, “The Wicker Man” and most recently “The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies”, died just months before he was due to start a new film with actress Uma Thurman.
Lee also served with the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, but said: “I was attached to the SAS from time to time but we are forbidden – former, present, future – to discuss any specific operations. Let’s just say I was in Special Forces and leave it at that.”
Lee also used his deep voice in a longstanding music career that included heavy metal collaborations, with the latest being “Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing”.
The world bid Sir Lee farewell with celebrities paying tributes via Twitter:
We cheered when Dracula, Saruman & Dooku lost. But today, we weep for the loss of the man who played them all. Farewell Sir Christopher Lee!
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) June 11, 2015
The loss of friend #ChristopherLee stings. His work will live forever! Honored to have known him & worked with him. pic.twitter.com/KwjPbVu7De
— Alice Cooper (@RealAliceCooper) June 12, 2015
Before there was shimmering diamond vampires, there was Christopher Lee. We shall never see his like again. A truly brilliant man.
— Liam McIntyre (@Liam_J_McIntyre) June 11, 2015
PM: Saddened to hear of Sir Christopher Lee’s death, a titan of Golden Age of Cinema & distinguished WW2 veteran who’ll be greatly missed
— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) June 11, 2015
British politician David Cameron referred to the actor as “a titan of the Golden Age of cinema and a distinguished World War Two veteran who’ll be greatly missed”. Legendary director Martin Scorsese, who worked with Lee on 2011’s Hugo was reported saying. “Sir Christopher Lee was my friend. I think of him every day, and I always will. We both wished that we’d been able to work together more, but it was a joy to make Hugo together. And to just be with him, just listening to his stories, in that beautiful baritone voice, stories about his time in the war, his time working during the heyday of Hammer, on all those wonderful pictures that are now considered to be classics, on eight decades in movies.”
A death certificate confirming Lee’s death also surfaced:
Janta Ka Reporter cannot vouch for the authenticity of this certificate. Lee’s death, however, has been confirmed by the hospital authorities.The world of entertainment would truly not be the same without Sir Christopher Lee. May his soul rest in peace.