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User:Tiller54/Music career of Christopher Lee

< User:Tiller54

Sir Christopher Lee
CBE CStJ
Lee at the Berlin International Film Festival, February 2013
Born
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee

(1922-05-27) 27 May 1922 (age 101)
Belgravia, London, England, United Kingdom
Alma materWellington College
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, author
Years active1946–present
SpouseBirgit Krøncke (1961–present)
Children1
Military career
Allegiance Finland
 United Kingdom
Service/branchFinnish Army (December 1939)
British Home Guard (1940)
 Royal Air Force (1941–1946)
Years of service1939–1946
RankFlight Lieutenant
Battles/warsWinter War
World War II (North African Campaign, Allied invasion of Italy, Battle of Monte Cassino)
Websitechristopherleeweb.com

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ, (born 27 May 1922) is an English actor, singer and author. Lee initially portrayed villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a string of popular Hammer Horror films. His other notable roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014), and Count Dooku in the final two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy (2002 and 2005).

He was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013.[1][2][3] Lee considers his best performance to be that of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998), and his best film to be the British horror film The Wicker Man (1973).[4]

Always noted as an actor for his deep, strong voice, he has, more recently, also been known for using his singing ability, recording various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 and the symphonic metal album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 after having worked with several metal bands since 2005. The heavy metal follow-up titled Charlemagne: The Omens of Death was released on 27 May 2013.[5][6] He was honoured with the "Spirit of Metal" award in the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden God awards ceremony.

Christopher Lee is one of the highest grossing actors of all time, having grossed $8,321,486,066 worldwide.

Music career of Christopher Lee edit

"The one serious regret of my career is that I never gave singing a proper shot."[7]

The King And I with Valerie Masterson.[8]

The King of Elfland's Daughter was "one of the most beautiful things I've ever been associated with." Narrated and sang the King.[8]

The Soldier's Tale, narrating all the voices. Went on tour including Birmingham, Croydon, Cheltenham, Glasgow, with the Scottish Chamer Orchestra.[8]

1989 Peter and the Wolf in Leominster.[9]

Christopher Lee Sings Devils, Rogues & Other Villains - from Broadway to Bayreuth. Invited by Nicholas Schreck. Fifteen songs sung in five days in LA in 1997. Some with piano, some with orchestra, some with Mighty Wurlitzer. Includes Iago's Credo from Othello, the two Mephistopheles arias from Faust, the Mikado's song, the Inquisitor's number from The Gondoliers, plus pieces from The Rheingold, The Marriage of Figaro, Gotterdammerung and so forth.[10]

Sang with Gary Curtis. First Elvis' Now or Never, plan for an album in 2003 "along country and western lines", "using High Noon, songs from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a Pat Boone song, a smidgen of Nashville, a whiff of the Delta."

Reading books on radio or audio: Frankenstein, Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, The Strange CAse of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde which was "one of the best." As well as works by Agatha Christie and Dennis Wheatley. Hybrid M. R. James stories reading them by the fire. The Exorcist.[11]

On radio, Somerset Maugham's The Noble Spaniard and Leviathan 99.[12]

References edit

  1. ^ "Hammer Horror star Lee knighted". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2012
  2. ^ "Christopher Lee to receive Bafta Fellowship". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2012
  3. ^ "Depp surprises Sir Christopher Lee with film award". BBC. Retrieved 14 December 2013
  4. ^ "The Total Film Interview – Christopher Lee". Total Film. 1 May 2005. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  5. ^ Sir Christopher Lee releases second heavy metal album
  6. ^ Farrell, John (28 May 2012). "Christopher Lee Celebrates 90th Birthday By Recording Heavy Metal". Forbes. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  7. ^ Lee 2003, p. 329-330.
  8. ^ a b c Lee 2003, p. 330.
  9. ^ Lee 2003, p. 330-331.
  10. ^ Lee 2003, p. 331.
  11. ^ Lee 2003, p. 331-332.
  12. ^ Lee 2003, p. 332.

Bibliography edit

  • Christopher Lee's Treasury of Terror, edited by Russ Jones, illustrated by Mort Drucker & others, Pyramid Books, 1966
  • Christopher Lee's New Chamber of Horrors, Souvenir Press, 1974
  • Christopher Lee's Archives of Terror, Warner Books, Volume I, 1975; Volume 2, 1976
  • Tall, Dark and Gruesome (autobiography), W.H. Allen, 1977 and 1999
  • The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films, by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes, Titan Books, 1997 and 2007 – Foreword by Christopher Lee
  • Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History by Jonathan Rigby, Reynolds & Hearn, 2001 and 2003
  • The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare by Chris Smith, HarperCollins, 2003 – Foreword by Christopher Lee
  • Lee, Christopher (2003) [1977]. Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee. London: Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 0-75285-770-3.
  • Dans les griffes de la Hammer by Nicolas Stanzick, Le Bord de l'eau Editions, Paris, 2010.
  • Sir Christopher Lee by Laurent Aknin, Nouveau Monde Éditions, Paris, 2011.
  • Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares, by John Landis, DK Publishing, 2011 – Interview with Christopher Lee
  • Le Seigneur du désordre (autobiography, a French version of Lord of Misrule), Christopher Lee, Camion Blanc (Coll. "Camion Noir"), 2013.

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