Christopher Lee, 1922-2015

[ShogunRua]

A couple of days late, but allows me to compose my thoughts better.

I was literally thinking two days ago before Christopher Lee died that he is the only 90+ year old acting legend still alive, as Ernest Borgnine and Eli Wallach had recently died. Loved him, whether it be playing Dracula in Hammer's horror features, the villain in the greatest Bond film ever (The Man with the Golden Gun), 70's classics like The Wicker Man and The Three Musketeers, his underrated role in the overlooked The Magic Christian, etc, etc. Here is one of my favorite clips of the man, singing and dancing at 62 years old in an Australian exploitation superhero musical comedy;

[MacSwell]

Kirk Douglas is (somehow) still with us.

[Suture Self]

While we can only guess at what sort of classified things Christopher Lee got up to while he was in the SAS, one incident during the filming of Lord of the Rings gives insight into the kind of action that he saw. In a scene reserved for the extended version of Return of the King, underling Grima Wormtongue stabs Saruman in the back. Director Peter Jackson was coaching his actors on how to approach the scene, when something unexpected happened. Christopher Lee asked Jackson if he knew what it sounded like when someone was stabbed in the back. He then followed it up with: “Because I do.”

According to Peter Jackson, Christopher Lee then began talking about “some clandestine part of World War II,” although, as always, he withheld details. Jackson had wanted him to shout in pain when he was stabbed. Lee explained that when you are stabbed, “the breath is driven out of your lungs,” and he gave a good impression of what it would actually sound like—more like a strangled gasp.

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http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/82119503

[ShogunRua]

Kirk Douglas is (somehow) still with us.

Wow, right you are! 98 years old and still going strong. Good call.

[MacSwell]

The only other one I can think of is Maureen O'Hara.

[Malcym]

Olivia de Havilland just turned 99 last week.