Country Living Series

Friday, June 12, 2015

RIP Christopher Lee

Yesterday we were all saddened to hear of the passing of the great actor Christopher Lee at the venerable age of 93.

He apparently passed away a few days ago, but his wife of over fifty years kept it quiet until such time as family members could be suitably notified.

Of course younger generations know him from his role as Saruman in Lord of the Rings (he knew J.R.R. Tolkien personally), but in fact his acting résumé stretches back decades and encompasses hundreds of films.

According to Wikipedia, "Lee spoke fluent English, Italian, French, Spanish and German, and was moderately proficient in Swedish, Russian and Greek. Lee stated in an interview that he was 'conversationally fluent' in Mandarin Chinese."

All this, and he appeared to be a durned nice guy who was faithful to his wife for half a century.

Rest in peace, Sir Christopher. You will be greatly missed.


  1. His resume is even more impressive than just acting - He was a WW2 vet - and his experiences formed the basis for his cousin, Ian Fleming's James Bond. Doesn' t come any better than that!

  2. We mourn while heaven rejoices.


  3. He also released a Heavy Metal music album in his 80s! Very interesting guy.


  4. Sorry about his passing. But I never heard of him.


  5. I think he was a fine actor and a true gentleman who made his mark in the world and left behind many fine memories in the films he made and the roles he played.

    A. McSp

  6. No, no, its Sir Christopher. I was chided publically by a British twit at a debate tournament a hundred years ago and have never forgotten that the Sir goes with the first name. Julia

    1. Thank you, I didn't know that and have made the correction.

      - Patrice

  7. Lee was a member of Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare".
    If something needed to be taken out, this group was assigned. Their biggest mission was to destroy a heavy water factory in Norway that Hitler could have used to make a nuclear bomb.
    Truly an amazing man and an amazing life.