RIP Christopher Lee

Learnt this morning that the imposing and legendary actor that was Christopher Lee passed away Sunday June 7th.
The news of his death at the age of 93 wasn't officially announced  by his family until today the 12 of June.

I was actually catching a rerun of  SCARS OF DRACULA just a couple of days earlier and so as tribute to one of the screens greatest DRACULAs I scribbled up this hasty homage to one of horrors major players. ( I opted to keep that ridiculously fake looking bat out of my shot.)

In reading up on his background, achievements and screen career one of my favourite anecdotes was the one of him working with Peter jackson on Lord of the Rings trilogy .
while filming the death scene of his character Saruman in the RETURN OF THE KING    ( seen only in the extended version) Jackson had requested Christopher to scream when grim Wormtongue stabs him in the upper back, it was then that Christopher interrupted Peter jackson saying "Peter have you ever heard the sound a man makes when stabbed in the back?"
"Um no" says Peter to which Christopher replies "Well, I have, I know what to do"

As the lung is punctured the stabbed man would only be able to let out a groan as his last breath is exhaled.

The hushed crew never pushed him for further information regards the when and the why knowing that he'd served in the British Royal Air Force intelligence service during World War 2.


Another weird fact about Sir Christopher Lee is that he witnessed the execution of Eugen Weidmann who was the last person to be publicly executed in France in 1939

"Every actor has to make terrible films every now and again, the trick is not to be terrible in them"