Sir richard francis burton biography of christopher lee

Lee's mother, Countess Estella Maria Carandini di Sarzano, was a renowned beauty who modeled for numerous artists and sculptors of the Edwardian era. Lee's paternal grandparents had established Australia's first opera school. In , Lee's parents divorced, and his mother took him and his elder sister Xandra to Switzerland, where Lee received his primary education at the Summer Fields School.

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With a passion for classical vocals, Lee was an ardent opera aficionado. After completing Wellington College, Lee worked as a clerk in various London shipping companies. However, his involvement was brief, and he did not engage in combat. Lee's cinematic journey began in when he moved to Switzerland with his mother and attended Miss Fischer's Academy in Wengen.

It was there that he performed his first theatrical role, the villainous Rumpelstiltskin in a school play. Upon demobilization in , Lee enrolled in drama school and signed a contract with the Rank Organization. After several years of minor roles, Lee found his niche in the iconic horror genre, portraying the monster in "The Curse of Frankenstein" , the first of 21 films he made with Hammer.

A year later, he received his breakout role as Dracula in the eponymous film.

Christopher lee cause of death

Throughout his career, Lee excelled in portraying sinister characters, most notably Dracula played nine times , Count Dooku in "Star Wars" , and Saruman in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy Notably, Lee was the only cast member of the trilogy to have known J. Tolkien personally. He was also a cousin to the renowned author Ian Fleming. In the s, he relocated to Hollywood but eventually returned to Britain.

Lee formed his own production company, Charlemagne Productions, in , and financed two horror films through it.