Christopher Lee has died aged 93.

Christopher as Bernard Day in the 1948 film, Scott of the Antarctic;

And as Saruman in the The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies;

And - at 87 - taking a tilt at heavy metal. "The Blood of The Saxon Men"

^^^^^^^
Magic!!!

Lee as Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun



Lee was in reality related to James Bond author Ian Fleming and had been Fleming's choice as Dr No, Cubby Broccoli had already decided on Joseph Wiseman for the role so Lee had to wait until 1973 before making a Bond film.

Back in World War 2, Lee had been in RAF Intelligence and makes reference to secondments with SOE and the Long Rang Desert Group, so a spy film was a natural for him. Earlier, Lee volunteered for the Finnish Army during the Winter War and had tried as a pilot with the RAF, only to lose out when his optic nerve failed during a flight.

Lee's own favourite film was another 1973 offering, The Wicker Man. Unlike other horror films of the time there are no supernatural elements and is something which might, just might, happen for real;