PT R.I.P. Sir Christopher Lee 1922 - 2015

I don't have it anymore, it also had tons of knicks and scratches from playing.

 

at least you played with it like you're supposed to do. nothing wrong with that.

 

Rest in Peace, Sir Christopher. I know you will be greatly missed.

 

It's kind of hard to say anything new about him what hasn't been said already he's Christopher Lee. Always will be. Notice I didn't use "was" because though he may be gone he will forever remain eternal with all the great performances he made in his lifetime.

My best friend said he grew up with him as the bad guy in movies as a kid always liking his cool voice and he's right as I did too I watched those films alongside my friend. I was introduced to this great actor through the Star Wars movies and the Lord of the Rings films and while I will eventually see his other great works like the Dracula films I know they are out there and I definitely respect them.

He is one of those guys that no matter what the film he never gives a bad performance he is always good even in some of the Tim Burton films he appeared in that I have seen some of which are supporting parts like Wonka's father and some are minor like Dark Shadows and Sleepy Hollow but he gives it his all. I think the reason why comes from the man himself: "Every actor has to make terrible films from time to time, but the trick is never to be terrible in them."-Sir Christopher Lee

The man died at the age of 93 still working beforehand. He could have retired peacefully at anytime because he already had done enough more than enough but to him it was never enough. He returned to his role of Saruman one more time in the Hobbit films filming everything for the film in London and though he definitely looked frail he was still happy to be there and was dedicated to finishing it and seeing it through and I'm glad he did.

When I heard he died I was just on my way to an exam my last ever for secondary school (which is basically the Irish version of the latter half of high school after this you can move onto college) though the reports were only just coming in and my brother who told me wasn't sure if it was real but I didn't have time to think about it as I was a bit worried how this final test would go. Then as I rode in the car alongside my dad a woman sent in a text to the radio expressing sadness about his death mentioning how he was the only Dracula to scare her which pretty much sealed it that he was gone. My dad then said that he watched him years ago with the Dracula films and he wasn't sure how old he was and I brought up he was 93 and he was a bit shocked and then I mentioned he was in Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. And when I went into my exam though I was focused on my test it never left me the thought that he was deceased.

But then again as I said above though he is gone he will forever be eternal because of his performances. It hit me then afterwards also that every generation grew up with Christopher Lee my dad knew him as Count Dracula, people a little older than me would probably know him for James Bond and people my age of almost 19 or younger and slightly older would know him for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings although fans older than me would know him for those roles too.

There will never be another quite like him and I am proud to have lived in his lifetime and I will forever enjoy the great performances he has given us for many years to come over and over again.

Thank you Sir Christopher Lee. RIP a true legend.

 

I always thought I had A special connection to Sir Christopher Lee, he was the same Age As my Grandfather. Sadly my Grandfather Died in 2004 after a long bout of Dementia and Alzheimer's. My grandfather served in the ARMY during WW-2 740th Tank Battalion, when he got Dementia and Alzheimer's he didn't even know who my Grandmother was, he thought she was the nice lady that took care of him but he could still recount tales from the war, besides the fact that he was a tanker everything he told me about the war was spot on what Steven Spielberg told in Saving Private Ryan.

thank you for all your great movies and Memories Sir Christopher Lee, you will be missed RIP

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU....

 

Even though Dooku and Saruman seem similar on paper--very wise and powerful magicians/wizards/Jedi who may start out with the best of intentions but become corrupted along the way- Sir Christopher's performances brought these characters to life in a way that you couldn't mix them up. As wonderful as animated Dooku's characterization on The Clone Wars, I still think "Sir Christopher Lee" when I think of Count Dooku. He brought an incredible amount of skill, professionalism, and strength to every role, even if the project might have been less than stellar.
Sir Christopher has been a part of my favorite movies for almost my whole life--he was the voice of King Haggard in The Last Unicorn, which has been my favorite movie since I was 4.

We'll miss you.

 

Worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order. RIP

 

This is indeed very fitting. We shall miss you, Count.

 

Nice tributes in here.

I've said before, but the prequel trilogy was worth making just for Christopher Lee.

He obviously brought a lot of class, elegance, and dignity to the role -- one that was really a bit role, but that he played with expert panache.

That, and, in having Christopher Lee in your movie, your story immediately gets an upgrade, because not only do you have the authority and skill of Christopher Lee himself, but all that film history that he is -- and always will be -- eminently associated with.

Also, in the case of Star Wars, when people call out the acting for being wooden, you can, of course, go with the argument that the series is a visual experience first and foremost, but you can also indicate that, actually, it does have some pretty wonderful actors in it with a commanding presence and the ability to tear up the screen, and Christopher Lee is (likely) one of the first examples your mind brings up.

 

I'm late to the game here, and it's personally sad to have seen such a master and a gentleman of the arts pass away. Not only for his role as Dooku in Star Wars, but also for his role as Francisco Scaramanga in James Bond, and countless other films.

He truly is a legend, and one of the best in the history of film.

Rest in peace, Sir.

 

I'm sure Christopher Lee loved acting the heck out of the parts he got. I'm surprised he didn't joke that he wished they would let him portray Dooku/Tyranus in TCW or voice him in other media. Once he got his hands on a role, he was down. And he nailed it.

 

Damn...so this happened?? Him and Peter Cushing in the clouds chilling. Word.

 

Actually, he voiced Dooku in the TCW movie, so he had his hand in that.

 

Oh, I know that. Sorry. I meant in the TV series. I haven't watched that movie in ages. But imagine Lee voicing Dooku when Sidious is choking him. Lee did a good job of being tortured/killed as Dracula back in the day. I think he would throw himself into portraying Dooku using Clovis and so on. Don't get me wrong. I liked how Corey Burton handled it, but he made Dooku sound almost American. Lee's accent is so nice. It's very dark, handsome, and very English.

Lee's voice was elegant. It's fun to listen to him talk about anything.



Such a range, too, as a singer.

 

Im really impressed by Sir Christopher Lee's War record,he even fought with the British contingent that went to Finland in the winter war against the Soviets,as did my uncle(may he also rest in peace),wonder if they knew each other..AFAIK they were both part of the NCO corps..

I digress,I have the greatest respect for Sir Christopher Lee achievements as both a warrior and an actor.
From the winter campaign in Finland to Count Dracula to Count Dooku...

Class act trough and trough,one of the last imperial British lions,when you were born one could sing without a hint of bitter irony:

"Rule Britannia,Britannia rules the waves,Britons never will be slaves!"








do rest in piece Sir Christopher

 

Before reading some of these articles on his past career, I didn't know much about him as other than an actor. It's interesting to see what he was involved in during wartime.

 

yeah he was the real deal. one of those larger than life people. a hero from one of the greatest generations.

 

He inspired me over 20 years ago to believe in all I could do. If it wasn't for him I would have never done those four years of acting. Or even dove into the role playing world. I owe so much for this man. He will be sorely missed. In both the RL and in the "other world" of movies, stage, voices, and even singing.

The Count is gone. Not only as Count Dooku, but the ever famous Count Dracula. Rest in peace, Sir Christopher Lee. Your works will continue to bring cheer, hope, joy to all those yet still to come.

I will also continue to write fanfic in your honor as the portrayal of Darth Tyranus. As I did here back in early 2000.

You are now, one with the Force after living a long and glorious life. So many movies. Stage plays. Voices. Readings. And even music. A legend among legends.

Kynstar (ever forever devoted fan)

 

I think I've posted memorials to the man in every board I belong to,but forgot this one!

Star Wars was pretty much my introduction to Lee. At first I admit,I remember I had my doubts. "This old dude is our Sith Lord?" But I just loved his portrayal of Dooku so much,I remember replaying the conversation with Obi-Wan in the cell and the final lightsaber battles about a thousand times when I first got the DVD, just to hear that great voice and delivery. You couldn't top it if you tried.

In the years that followed, I also became a bit of a LOTR fan,and he was excellent there. I even bought the Extended Editions to see his character's demise!

Of course, I discovered his work in the Hammer films and I enjoyed them (at least the earlier ones) immensely. His Horror of Dracula is still in my top ten favorite horror films of all time.

So cheers to you Sir Christopher Lee. You've made cinema a richer place for us all.Godspeed

 

I'm putting these on here because somehow I think Christopher Lee would like them.

 

Oh he was absolutely aware of the Trolling Saruman video. There's an in-joke on the Lego The Hobbit video game about it.

 

That's cool. Lee enjoyed working with all kinds of directors and actors.



In many respects, Lee never lost his youthful drive to be excited about life and express himself in many ways artistically. But he was also wise because he knew that fame, greed, and vain ambition could corrupt people. I rather enjoy listening to his analysis of the good and bad characters in Tolkien's work. To me, Lee's portrayal of Count Dooku meshes well with James Luceno's depiction of Dooku's personality in the EU. He portrays him as an elderly Jedi who wanted to do the right thing, wanted to make a perfect world, got sick of the incompetence and corruption around him, and joined the dark side to force that perfect world upon the galaxy. Luceno writes Dooku as idealistic Jedi who has chosen the dark side not to advance himself, but to enforce the Jedi ways through fascism. Of course, Lee did not have access to that much information, but he's portraying a man who thinks he's doing the right thing and has, in actuality, become an unfeeling, icy enforcer. He's not some evil sadist. You know, I think this is often misunderstood by casual fans. Dooku is an ex-Jedi who became a Sith in order to enforce what he saw as the Jedi ways as fascist's second-in-command. Darth Plagueis thought that Dooku would have made an excellent second-in-command, and, indeed, he would have been a much better choice for his Sith apprentice than Palpatine. Dooku even calls his Sith powers "Jedi powers," since he sees himself as a Sith Lord who is doing the Jedi way right while Yoda and the others are doing it wrong. Both Darth Tyranus and Darth Vader use the dark side primarily as cold executioners, not enraged berserkers. Dooku is not fire come to burn you. He's water come to drown you.



After all, we never see Dooku with yellow eyes because he sought to solidify Palpatine's place as Emperor, not himself. In essence, we find people like Count Dooku throughout history. They're bureaucrats and war criminals who think they are doing the right thing, but they kill and ruin lives like it's a job or a routine. They don't know what's good and evil anymore.

 

Disagree. In TCW, Dooku trains Savage with the express intent of using him against Darth Sidious.

 

Yeah, but TCW portrays Dooku differently than the EU and other sources. I agree with Jensaarai1 on this. Granted, Dooku is better portrayed in Season 6, I think, but the way he's written in TCW is that of a stereotypical villain.

Having said all that, it is interesting to see a character be a Sith master and do the opposite of what Yoda was doing for Luke in TESB.

Plus, it's kind of strange that James Luceno portrays Dooku in a more nuanced fashion in Labyrinth of Evil, and then all of sudden his personality is more overtly evil in Matt Stover's novelization of ROTS. So, different authors will have different interpretations.