Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93 after being hospitalized for respiratory problems and heart failure, says The Guardian.
The veteran actor, best known for a variety of films from Dracula to The Wicker Man through to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, passed away on Sunday morning at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, according to sources.
As well as his career in film, Lee also released a series of heavy metal albums, including “Charlemagne: The Omens of Death,” adds the site. He was knighted in 2009 for services to drama and charity and was awarded the Bafta fellowship in 2011.
Lee started his legendary run as the king of horror when he joined Hammer Films’ 1957 The Curse of Frankenstein before starring in, get this, Horror of Dracula, Corridors of Blood, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Mummy, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Scream of Fear, The Skull, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Scream and Scream Again, Count Dracula, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Scars of Dracula, The House That Dripped Blood, Dracula A.D. 1972, The Satanic Rites of Dracula and many, many more.
Later in Christopher Lee’s career, he could be seen in Howling II: … Your Sister Is a Werewolf, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Sleepy Hollow, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Burke and Hare, Season of the Witch, The Wicker Man, The Wicker Tree, and even Dark Shadows. Tim Burton was clearly a huge fan.
We will all miss him and never forget the horror legacy left behind.