Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining power for himself. His schemes feature prominently in the second volume, The Two Towers, and at the end of the third volume, The Return of the King. His earlier history is given briefly in the posthumously published The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.

Saruman is one of several characters in the book illustrating the corruption of power; his desire for knowledge and order leads to his fall, and he rejects the chance of redemption when it is offered. The name Saruman means "man of skill";^[1] he serves as an example of technology and modernity being overthrown by forces more in tune with nature.

Appearances[link]

[edit] The Lord of the Rings

Saruman first appears in The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), which is the first volume of The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings describes a quest to destroy the One Ring, a powerful and evil talisman created by the Dark Lord Sauron to control Middle-earth (the fictional world in which Tolkien's story takes place). Sauron lost the Ring in battle thousands of years before the beginning of the story, and it is now held in secret in the Shire by the hobbit Frodo Baggins, one of the story's main protagonists. Early in The Fellowship of the Ring, the wizard Gandalf describes Saruman as "the chief of my order"^[2] and head of the White Council that forced Sauron from Mirkwood at the end of Tolkien's earlier book The Hobbit. He notes Saruman's great knowledge of the magic rings created by Sauron and by the Elven-smiths. Shortly afterwards, Gandalf breaks an arrangement to meet Frodo, whom he has sent to take the Ring out of the Shire to keep it safe from Sauron's agents.

After Frodo and Gandalf are reunited at Rivendell midway through The Fellowship of the Ring, the wizard explains why he failed to join Frodo: he had been summoned to consult with his superior Saruman, who proposed that the wizards ally themselves with the rising power of Sauron in order to eventually control him for their own ends. Saruman went on to suggest that they could take the Ring for themselves and challenge Sauron. When Gandalf refused both options, Saruman imprisoned him in the tower of Orthanc at Isengard, hoping to learn from him the location of the Ring. Gandalf observed that Saruman had industrialised the formerly green valley of Isengard and was creating his own army of Orcs and wolves to rival Sauron.^[3]

In The Two Towers (1954), the second volume of the story, Orcs from Saruman's army in search of the Ring attack Frodo and his companions. Following Saruman's orders to capture hobbits, they carry off two of Frodo's closest friends, Merry and Pippin. The two escape into Fangorn Forest, where they meet the Ents, protectors of the trees, who are outraged at the widespread felling of trees by Saruman's orcs.^[4] Meanwhile, Saruman's army has invaded the land of Rohan, with the effect of preventing the Riders of Rohan from joining the fight against Sauron. Having betrayed Sauron by attempting unsuccessfully to seize the Ring for himself, Saruman is ruined when the Riders of Rohan defeat his army and Merry and Pippin prompt the Ents to destroy Isengard. Saruman himself is not directly involved, and only appears again in chapter 10, The Voice of Saruman, by which time he is trapped in Orthanc. He fails in his attempt to negotiate with the Rohirrim and with Gandalf, and rejects Gandalf's conditional offer to let him go free. Gandalf casts him out of the White Council and the order of the wizards, and breaks Saruman's staff.^[5]

Saruman makes his final appearance at the end of the last volume, The Return of the King (1955), after Sauron's defeat. After persuading the Ents to release him from Orthanc, he travels north on foot, apparently reduced to begging. He is accompanied by his servant Gríma Wormtongue, whom he beats and curses.^[6] When they reach the Shire, Saruman's agents — both Hobbits and Men — have already taken it over and started a destructive process of modernization. Saruman governs the Shire in secret under the name of Sharkey until the events of chapter 8 (The Scouring of the Shire) in which Frodo and his companions return and lead a rebellion, defeating the intruders and exposing Saruman's role. He is then set free, even after attempting to kill Frodo, but is murdered by Wormtongue after again kicking and abusing him.^[7]

Other books[link]

Consistent accounts of Saruman's earlier history appear in Appendix B to The Lord of the Rings, first published in The Return of the King, and in the posthumously published The Silmarillion (1977) and Unfinished Tales (1980). All were written in the mid-1950s. Saruman, like Gandalf and Radagast the Brown, is one of five 'wizards', known as the Istari, who arrive in Middle-earth 2000 years before the beginning of The Lord of the Rings. They are Maiar, envoys of the godlike Valar sent to challenge Sauron by inspiring the people of Middle-earth rather than by direct conflict.^[8] Tolkien regarded them as being somewhat like incarnate angels.^[9] Saruman initially travelled in the east; he was later appointed head of the White Council and eventually settles at Gondor's outpost of Isengard. Fifty years before The Lord of the Rings, after his studies reveal that the One Ring might be found in the river Anduin near Sauron's stronghold at Dol Guldur, he helps the White Council drive out Sauron in order to facilitate his search.^[10]

Unfinished Tales also contains various drafts not included in The Lord of the Rings that describe Saruman's attempts to frustrate Sauron's chief servants, the Nazgûl, in their search for the Ring during the early part of The Fellowship of the Ring; in one version he considers throwing himself on Gandalf's mercy. There is also a description of how Saruman became involved with the Shire and of how he gradually becomes jealous of Gandalf.^[11] Another brief account describes how the five Istari were chosen by the Valar for their mission.^[12]

Creation and development[link]

Tolkien had been writing The Lord of the Rings for several years when Saruman came into existence as the solution to a long-unresolved plot development, and his role and characteristics continued to emerge in the course of writing. Tolkien started work on the book in late 1937, but was initially unsure of how the story would develop.^[13] Unlike some of the other characters in the book, Saruman had not appeared in Tolkien's 1937 children's tale, The Hobbit, or in his then-unpublished Quenta Silmarillion and related mythology, which date back to 1917.^[a] When he wrote of Gandalf’s failure to meet Frodo, Tolkien did not know what had caused it and later said: "Most disquieting of all, Saruman had never been revealed to me, and I was as concerned as Frodo at Gandalf's failure to appear".^[14] Tolkien's son, Christopher, has said that the early stages of the creation of The Lord of the Rings proceeded in a series of waves, and that having produced the first half of The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien rewrote the tale from the start three times.^[15] Saruman first appeared during a fourth phase of writing in a rough narrative outline dated August 1940. Intended to account for Gandalf's absence, it describes how a wizard titled "Saramond the White" or "Saramund the Grey", who has fallen under the influence of Sauron, lures Gandalf to his stronghold and traps him.^[16] The full story of Saruman's betrayal was later added to the existing chapters.^[17]

Several of Saruman’s other appearances in the book emerged in the process of writing. Christopher Tolkien believes that the old man seen by Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli at the edge of Fangorn forest near the beginning of The Two Towers is in the original drafts intended to be Gandalf. In the finished version he is Saruman.^[18] Similarly, in the first drafts of the chapter The Scouring of the Shire, Sharkey is successively a ruffian met by the hobbits and then that man’s unseen boss. It is only in the second draft of the chapter that, as Christopher Tolkien puts it, his father “perceive[d]” that Sharkey was in fact Saruman.^[19] The name used by Saruman's henchmen for their diminished leader is said in a footnote to the final text to be derived from an Orkish term meaning "old man".^[20] Saruman's death scene, in which his body shrivels away to skin and bones revealing "long years of death" and "a pale shrouded figure" rises over the corpse,^[21] was not added until the page proofs of the completed book were being reviewed by Tolkien.^[22] John D. Rateliff and Jared Lobdell are among those to write that the scene shows similarities to the death of the 2000-year old sorceress Ayesha in H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel She: A History of Adventure.^[23]

Characterization[link]

Tolkien described Saruman at the time of The Lord of the Rings as having a long face and a high forehead, "...he had deep darkling eyes ... His hair and beard were white, but strands of black still showed around his lips and ears."^[24] His hair is elsewhere described as having been black when he first arrived in Middle-earth. He is referred to as 'Saruman the White' and is said to have originally worn white robes, but on his first entry in The Fellowship of the Ring they instead appear to be "woven from all colours [, they] shimmered and changed hue so that the eye was bewildered" and he names himself 'Saruman of Many Colours'.^[25]

The power of Saruman's voice is noted throughout the book. Jonathan Evans calls the characterization of Saruman in the chapter The Voice of Saruman a "tour de force".^[20] Roger Sale says of the same chapter that "Tolkien valiantly tried to do something worth doing which he simply cannot bring off."^[26] Tom Shippey writes that "Saruman talks like a politician ... No other character in Middle-earth has Saruman's trick of balancing phrases against each other so that incompatibles are resolved, and none comes out with words as empty as 'deploring', 'ultimate', worst of all, 'real'. What is 'real change'?"^[27] Shippey contrasts this modern speech pattern with the archaic stoicism and directness that Tolkien employs for other characters such as the Dwarven King Dáin, which Shippey believes represent Tolkien's view of heroism in the mould of Beowulf.^[27]

After the defeat of his armies, having been caught in the betrayal of Sauron, Saruman is offered refuge by Gandalf, in return for his aid, but having chosen his path, is unable to turn from it.^[28] Evans has compared the character of Saruman to that of Satan in John Milton's Paradise Lost in his use of rhetoric and in this final refusal of redemption, "conquered by pride and hatred."^[20]

Literary themes[link]

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Saruman has been identified by critics as demonstrating the fall of an originally good character, and has distinctively modern connections with technology^{[clarification needed]}. Tolkien writes that The Lord of the Rings was often criticised for portraying all characters as either good or bad, with no shades of grey, a point to which he responds by proposing Saruman, along with Denethor and Boromir, as examples of characters with more nuanced loyalties.^[29] Marjorie Burns writes that while Saruman is an "imitative and lesser" double of Sauron, reinforcing the Dark Lord's character type, he is also a contrasting double of Gandalf, who becomes Saruman as he "should have been", after Saruman fails in his original purpose.^[30]

Saruman "was great once, of a noble kind that we should not dare raise our hands against" but decays as the book goes on.^[31] Patricia Meyer Spacks calls him "one of the main case histories [in the book] of the gradual destructive effect of willing submission to evil wills."^[28] Paul Kocher identifies Saruman's use of a palantír, a seeing-stone, as the immediate cause of his downfall, but also suggests that through his study of "the arts of the enemy", Saruman was drawn into imitation of Sauron.^[32] According to Jonathan Evans and Spacks, Saruman succumbs to the lust for power,^[20][28] while Shippey identifies Saruman's devotion to goals of knowledge, organization and control as his weakness.^[33] Tolkien writes that the Istari's chief temptation (and that to which Saruman fell) is impatience, leading to a desire to force others to do good, and then to a simple desire for power.^[34]

Treebeard describes Saruman as having "a mind of metal and wheels".^[35] Evil in The Lord of the Rings tends to be associated with machinery, whereas good is usually associated with nature. Both Saruman's stronghold of Isengard and his altered Shire demonstrate negative effects of industrialization and Isengard is overthrown when the forests, in the shape of the Ents, literally rise against it.^[28] Patrick Curry says Tolkien is "hostile to industrialism", linking this to the widespread urban development that took place in the West Midlands where Tolkien grew up in the first decades of the 20th century. He identifies Saruman as one of the key examples given in the book of the evil effects of industrialization, and by extension imperialism.^[36] Shippey notes that Saruman's name repeats this view of technology: in the Mercian dialect of Anglo-Saxon used by Tolkien to represent the Language of Rohan in the book, the root word searu means "clever", "skillful" or "ingenious" and has associations with both technology and treachery that are fitting for Tolkien's portrayal of Saruman, the "cunning man".^[37] He also writes of Saruman's distinctively modern association with Communism in the way the Shire is run under his control: goods are taken "for fair distribution" which, since they are mainly never seen again, Shippey terms an unusually modern piece of hypocrisy in the way evil presents itself in Middle-earth.^[38]

Saruman is in part the architect of his own downfall. Kocher, Randall Helms and Shippey write that Saruman's actions in the first half of The Two Towers, although intended to further his own interests, in fact lead to his defeat and that of Sauron: his orcs help split the Fellowship at Parth Galen, and in carrying off two of the hobbits initiate a series of incidents that lead to his ruin. In turn this frees the Rohirrim to intervene at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and then together with the men of Gondor to assault Sauron's stronghold of Mordor and distract him from Frodo's final effort to destroy the Ring. Shippey says that this demonstrates the value of persistence in the face of despair, even if a way out cannot be seen;^[39] Kocher and Helms write that it is part of a pattern of providential events and of the reversed effects of evil intentions throughout the book.^[40]

In the end, the diminished Saruman is murdered, his throat cut, and Shippey notes that when he dies his spirit "dissolved into nothing". He identifies Saruman as the best example in the book of "wraithing", a distinctive 20th-century view of evil that he attributes to Tolkien in which individuals are "'eaten up inside' by devotion to some abstraction".^[33] Referring to Saruman's demise, Kocher says that he is one example of the consistent theme of nothingness as the fate of evil throughout The Lord of the Rings.^[41]

Adaptations[link]

Saruman has appeared in film, audio and stage adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. BBC Radio produced the first adaptation in 1956, which has not survived. Tolkien was apparently disappointed by it.^[42]

In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, which corresponds to The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers, Saruman is voiced by Fraser Kerr. He has only one major scene — his attempt to persuade Gandalf to join him. He appears again briefly before the battle of Helm's Deep, speaking to his army. The character is dressed in red and is called 'Saruman' and 'Aruman' at different points. Smith and Matthews suggest that the use of 'Aruman' was intended to avoid confusion with 'Sauron'.^[43] The 1980 Rankin/Bass TV animated version of The Return of the King begins roughly where Bakshi's film ends but does not include Saruman's character.^[44]

BBC Radio's second adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, from 1981, presents Saruman much as in the books. Smith and Matthews report Peter Howell's performance as Saruman as "brilliantly ambiguous [...], drifting from mellifluous to almost bestially savage from moment to moment without either mood seeming to contradict the other."^[45]

In Peter Jackson's film trilogy (2001–2003), Saruman is significantly more active in the first two films than in their equivalent books, and he appears in several scenes that are not depicted in Tolkien's work. In the films, Saruman is depicted presenting himself outright as a servant of Sauron. Smith and Matthews suggest that Saruman's role is built up as a substitute for Sauron—the story's primary antagonist—who never appears directly in the book. Jackson confirms this view in the commentary to the DVD.^[46] They also suggest that having secured veteran British horror actor Christopher Lee to play Saruman, it made sense to make greater use of his star status.^[47] Despite this increased role in the first two films, the scenes involving Saruman that were shot for use in the third film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, were not used in the cinematic release, a decision which "shocked" Lee. Jackson reasoned that it would be anticlimactic to show Saruman's fate in the second movie (after the Battle of Helm's Deep) and too retrospective for it to be in the third one.^[48] The cut scenes end with Saruman falling to his death from the top of Orthanc after being stabbed by Wormtongue and include material from the chapter The Scouring of the Shire. They are included at the start of the Extended Edition DVD release of the film.^[49] Lee will also be reprising his role as Saruman in Jackson's adaptation of The Hobbit.

See also[link]

• Magic (Middle-earth)
• Uruk-hai
• War of the Ring

Notes[link]

Middle-earth portal

[a] ^ The volume published as The Silmarillion in 1977 contains four books in addition to the Quenta Silmarillion. The last of these—Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age—covers Saruman's earlier history, but was written after The Lord of the Rings..

Citations[link]

Note: For ease of reference, citations of Letters include the number of the letter before the page number. Page numbers are for the editions given below, and will differ from other editions.

References[link]

Criticism

• Drout, Michael (ed.) (2007). J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0. 
• Kocher, Paul (1973). Master of Middle-earth. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01095-1. 
• Hammond, Wayne (2005). The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion. City: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 978-0-618-64267-0. 
• Helms, Randel (1974). Tolkien's World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-18490-8. 
• Isaacs, Neil (ed.) (1968). Tolkien and the Critics; Essays on J. R. R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings,. City: University of Notre Dame. ISBN 0-268-00279-7. 
• Shippey, Prof. Tom (1982, 2005). The Road to Middle-earth. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10275-3. 
• Shippey, Prof. Tom (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the century. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10401-2. 
• Smith, Jim; Matthews, J Clive (2004). The Lord of the Rings : the films, the books, the radio series. Virgin books. ISBN 0-7535-0874-5. 

History of composition

• Tolkien, Christopher (1988). The Return of the Shadow. Unwin Hyman. ISBN 0-04-440669-X. 
• Tolkien, Christopher (1989, 2002). The Treason of Isengard. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10220-6. 
• Tolkien, Christopher (1993, 2002). Sauron Defeated. City: Harpercollins Pub Ltd. ISBN 0-261-10305-9. 

Biographical

• Carpenter, Humphrey (2002). J R R Tolkien — A Biography. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-713284-0. 
• Carpenter, Humphrey (ed.) (1981, 2006). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10265-6. 

Fiction

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937, 1986). The Hobbit. Unwin Paperbacks. ISBN 0-04-823188-6. 
• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954, 1999). The Fellowship of the Ring. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10235-4. 
• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954, 1999). The Two Towers. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10236-2. 
• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955, 1999). The Return of the King. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10237-0. 
• Tolkien, J. R. R (1977, 1983). The Silmarillion. London: Unwin Paperbacks. ISBN 0-04-823230-0. 
• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980, 1998). Unfinished Tales. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10362-8. 

External links[link]

• Saruman at the Internet Movie Database
• Saruman at the Tolkien Gateway
• Saruman at the Encyclopedia of Arda.
• Saruman at The One Ring.net.
• Saruman at The Thain's Book.

Sir Christopher Lee
Lee in 2009.
Born	Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (1922-05-27) 27 May 1922 (age 90)[1] Belgravia, Westminster, England
Residence	London, England
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Wellington College
Occupation	Actor, author, singer
Years active	1946–present
Notable work(s)	Count Dracula The Man with the Golden Gun The Lord of the Rings film trilogy Star Wars prequel trilogy Jinnah The Wicker Man
Home town	London, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[2][3][4]
Spouse	Birgit Krøncke (m. 1961) «start: (1961)»"Marriage: Birgit Krøncke to Christopher Lee" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Christopher_Lee)
Children	Christina Erika Carandini Lee
Relatives	Ian Fleming (step-cousin) Harriet Walter (niece) Marie Carandini (great-grandmother)
Awards	BAFTA Fellowship Award
Website
www.christopherleeweb.com

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ (born 27 May 1922) is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. 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 Count Dooku in the final two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy (2002, 2005). He has collaborated with director Tim Burton in five films, most recently with Dark Shadows (2012).

Lee considers his most important role to be his portrayal of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998); however, he considers his best role to be that of Lord Summerisle in the British cult classic The Wicker Man (1973), which he also believes to be his best film.^[5] Lee is well known for his deep, strong voice and imposing height. He has performed roles in 275 films since 1946 making him the Guinness World Record holder for most film acting roles ever.^[6] He was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, and received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011.^[7][8]

Early life[link]

Lee was born in Belgravia, Westminster, as the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee, of the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps, and his wife, Contessa Estelle Marie (née Carandini di Sarzano).^[9][10] Lee's mother was a famous Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery as well as by Oswald Birley and Olive Snell, and sculpted by Clare F. Sheridan. Lee's maternal great-grandfather was an Italian political refugee, whose wife, Lee's great-grandmother, was English-born Australian singer Marie Carandini (née Burgess).

His parents separated when he was very young, and his mother took him and his sister to Switzerland. After enrolling in Miss Fisher's Academy in Wengen, he played his first villainous role as Rumpelstiltskin. The family returned to London, where Lee attended Wagner's private school. His mother then married Harcourt "Ingle" Rose, a banker and stepcousin of Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels. Lee spent some time at Summer Fields School, a preparatory school in Oxford (notable for sending many alumni to Eton). Lee applied unsuccessfully for a scholarship to Eton although the interview was to prove portentous because of the presence of the noted ghost story author M. R. James. Lee later claimed in his autobiography that James had cut a very impressive figure. Sixty years later Lee played the part of M.R. James for the BBC.^[11]

James was at that time nick-named 'Black Mouse', derived in part from his faintly sinister black cape and mortar board, and part from his habit of mewing unexpectedly at recalcitrant pupils. I cannot in all honesty say that at the time I was wholly displeased in failing to secure a scholarship; in many ways it was a relief. But I do know this: few men have created such a profound impression upon me, and I partially attribute my lifelong interest in the occult to my subsequent discovery of the horror stories penned by that most intriguing and intimidating of men.

Instead, Lee attended Wellington College, where he won scholarships in classics.

Involvement in World War II[link]

Lee volunteered to fight for the Finnish forces during the Winter War against the Soviet Union in 1939; however, he along with other British volunteers were kept away from actual fighting, although he was issued winter gear and was posted on guard duty a safe distance from the frontlines. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force and intelligence services during World War II, including serving as an Intelligence officer with the Long Range Desert Group. He trained in South Africa as a pilot, but eyesight problems forced him to drop out. He eventually ended up in North Africa as Cipher Officer for No. 260 Squadron RAF and was with it through Sicily and Italy. Additionally, he has mentioned (including in his audio commentary on the Lord of the Rings DVD) serving in Special Operations Executive. Lee retired from the RAF after the end of the war with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

Acting career[link]

Early career[link]

In 1946, Lee gained a seven-year contract with the Rank Organisation after discussing his interest in acting with his mother's second cousin Nicolò Carandini, the Italian Ambassador. Carandini related to Lee that performance was in his blood, as his great-grandmother Marie Carandini had been a successful opera singer, a fact of which Lee was unaware. He made his film debut in Terence Young's Gothic romance Corridor of Mirrors in 1947.^[12] He was a student at the Rank "charm school".

Also in 1947, Lee made an uncredited appearance in Laurence Olivier's film version of Hamlet as a spear carrier (marking his first film with frequent co-star and close friend Peter Cushing, who played Osric), and in John Huston's Oscar-nominated Moulin Rouge (1952).^[12] Throughout the next decade, he made nearly 30 films, playing mostly stock action characters.

Lee's first film for Hammer was The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), in which he played Frankenstein's monster, with Cushing as the Baron.^[12] A little later, Lee co-starred with Boris Karloff in the film Corridors of Blood (1958), but Lee's own appearance as Frankenstein's monster led to his first appearance as the Transylvanian vampire in the 1958 film Dracula (known as Horror of Dracula in the United States).^[12]

Lee returned to the role of Dracula in Hammer's Dracula: Prince of Darkness in 1965.^[12] Lee's performance is notable in that he has no lines, merely hissing his way through the film. Again, stories vary as to the reason for this: Lee states he refused to speak the poor dialogue he was given, but screenwriter Jimmy Sangster claims that the script did not contain any lines for the character. This film set the standard for most of the Dracula sequels in the sense that half the film's running time was spent on telling the story of Dracula's resurrection and the character's appearances were brief. Lee has gone on record to state that he was virtually "blackmailed" by Hammer into starring in the subsequent films; unable or unwilling to pay him his going rate, they would resort to reminding him of how many people he would put out of work if he did not take part.^{[citation needed]}

His roles in the films Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), and Scars of Dracula (1970) all gave the Count very little to do, but were all commercially successful. Although Lee may not have liked what Hammer was doing with the character, worldwide audiences embraced the films, which are now considered classics of the genre. Lee starred in two further Dracula films for Hammer in the early 1970s, both of which attempted to bring the character into the modern-day era. These were not commercially successful.

Lee's other work for Hammer included The Mummy (1959). Lee portrayed Rasputin in Rasputin, the Mad Monk (Lee apparently met Rasputin's assassin Felix Yussupov when he was a child) and Sir Henry Baskerville (to Cushing's Sherlock Holmes) in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). Lee later played Holmes himself in 1962's Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace, and returned to Holmes films with Billy Wilder's British-made The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), in which he plays Sherlock's smarter brother, Mycroft. Lee played a leading role in the German film The Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962), speaking German, which he had learned during his education in Switzerland.

He was responsible for bringing acclaimed occult author Dennis Wheatley to Hammer. The company made two films from Wheatley's novels, both starring Lee. The first, The Devil Rides Out (1967), is generally considered to be one of Hammer's crowning achievements. According to Lee, Wheatley was so pleased with it that he offered the actor the film rights to his remaining black magic novels free of charge. However, the second film, To the Devil a Daughter (1976), was fraught with production difficulties and was disowned by its author. Although financially successful, it was Hammer's last horror film and marked the end of Lee's long association with the studio that brought him fame.

Like Cushing, Lee also appeared in horror films for other companies during the 20-year period from 1957 to 1977. Other films in which Lee performed include the series of Fu Manchu films made between 1965 and 1969, in which he starred as the villain in heavy oriental make-up; I, Monster (1971), in which he played Jekyll and Hyde; The Creeping Flesh (1972); and his personal favourite, The Wicker Man (1973), in which he played Lord Summerisle. Lee was attracted to the latter role by screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and apparently gave his services for free, as the budget was so small. Lee appeared in Eugenie (1970), unaware that it was softcore pornography, as the sex scenes were shot separately. In addition to doing films in the United Kingdom, Lee did movies in Mainland Europe: he appeared in two German films, Count Dracula, where he again played the vampire count, and The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism. Other films in Europe he made include Castle of the Living Dead and Horror Express.

1970–1999[link]

Since the mid 1970s, Lee has eschewed horror roles almost entirely. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels and Lee's stepcousin, had offered him the role of the titular antagonist in the first official Bond film Dr. No. Lee enthusiastically accepted, but the producers had already chosen Joseph Wiseman for the part. In 1974, Lee finally got to play a James Bond villain when he was cast as the deadly assassin Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun.

Because of his filming schedule in Bangkok, film director Ken Russell was unable to sign Lee to play The Specialist in Tommy (1975). That role was eventually given to Jack Nicholson. In an AMC documentary on Halloween, John Carpenter states that he offered the role of Samuel Loomis to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee before Donald Pleasence took the role. Years later, Lee met Carpenter and told him that the biggest regret of his career was not taking the role of Dr. Loomis.

Lee appeared on the cover of the 1973 Wings album Band on the Run, along with others including chat show host Michael Parkinson, film actor James Coburn, world boxing champion John Conteh and broadcaster Clement Freud.

In 1978, Lee surprised many people with his willingness to go along with a joke by appearing as guest host on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

In 1982, Lee appeared in The Return of Captain Invincible. In this film, Lee plays a fascist who plans to rid America (and afterwards, the world) of all non-whites. Lee sings on two tracks in the film ("Name Your Poison" and "Mister Midnight"), written by Richard O'Brien (who had written The Rocky Horror Picture Show seven years previously) and Richard Hartley.

In 1985, he appeared alongside Reb Brown and Sybil Danning in Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch. The movie rates a 2.8 on the Internet Movie Database and has been reviewed by The Spoony Experiment.

Lee made his latest appearances to date as Sherlock Holmes in 1991's Incident at Victoria Falls and 1992's Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady.

In addition to more than a dozen feature films together for Hammer Films, Amicus Productions and other companies, Lee and Peter Cushing both appeared in Hamlet (1948) and Moulin Rouge (1952) albeit in separate scenes; and in separate instalments of the Star Wars films, Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in the original film, Lee years later as Count Dooku. The last project which united them in person was a documentary, Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994), which they jointly narrated. It was the last time they saw each other as Cushing died two months later. While they frequently played off each other as mortal enemies onscreen—Lee's Count Dracula to Cushing's Professor Van Helsing—they were close friends in real life.

In 1994, Lee played the character of the Russian commandant in Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.

In 1998, Lee starred in the role of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of modern Pakistan, in the film Jinnah. While talking about his favourite role in film at a press conference at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, he declared that his role in Jinnah was by far his best performance.^[13]

Lee was at one point considered for the role of comic book villain/hero Magneto in the screen adaptation of the popular comic book series X-Men, but he lost the role to Ian McKellen.

2000–2009[link]

Lee at Forbidden Planet New Oxford Street, signing The Two Towers

He has had many television roles, including that of Flay in the BBC television miniseries, based on Mervyn Peake's novels, Gormenghast (2000), and Stefan Wyszyński in the CBS film John Paul the Second (2005). He played Lucas de Beaumanoir, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, in the BBC/A&E co-production of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1997). He played a role in the made-for-TV series La Révolution française (1989) in part 2, "Les Années Terribles", as the executioner, Sanson, who beheaded Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Robespierre and others. In 1967 he starred in an episode of the Avengers series entitled "Never, Never Say Die."

Lee played Saruman in the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. In the commentary, he states he had a decades-long dream to play Gandalf but that he was now too old and his physical limitations prevented his being considered. The role of Saruman, by contrast, required no horseback riding and much less fighting. Lee had met Tolkien once (making him the only person in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy to have done so) and makes a habit of reading the novels at least once a year.^[14] In addition, he performed for the album The Lord of the Rings: Songs and Poems by J. R. R. Tolkien in 2003.^[15] Lee's appearance in the third film was cut from the theatrical release. However, the scene was reinstated in the extended edition.

The Lord of the Rings marked the beginning of a major career revival that continued in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which he played Count Dooku, a name allegedly chosen to reflect his fame playing Count Dracula.^{[citation needed]} His autobiography states that he did much of the swordplay himself, though a double was required for the more vigorous footwork.

Lee filming The Heavy in Westminster in 2007

Lee is one of the favourite actors of Tim Burton and has become a regular in many of Burton's films, having now worked for the director five times since 1999. He had a small role as the Burgomaster in the film Sleepy Hollow. In 2005, Lee then went on to voice the character of Pastor Galswells in Corpse Bride co-directed by Burton and Mike Johnson and play a small role in the Burton's reimagining of the Roald Dahl tale Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as Willy Wonka's strict dentist father Dr. Wilbur Wonka.

In 2007, Lee collaborated with Burton on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, playing the spirit of Sweeney Todd's victims called The Gentleman Ghost alongside Anthony Head, with both singing "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd", its reprises and the Epilogue. These songs were recorded, but eventually cut since director Tim Burton felt that the songs were too theatrical for the film. Lee's appearance was completely cut from the film, but Head still has an uncredited one-line cameo.^[16]

In late November 2009, Lee narrated the Science Fiction Festival in Trieste, Italy.^[17] Also in 2009, Lee starred in Stephen Poliakoff's British period drama Glorious 39 with Julie Christie, Bill Nighy, Romola Garai and David Tennant, Academy Award-nominated director Danis Tanović's war film Triage with Colin Farrell and Paz Vega, and Duncan Ward's comedy Boogie Woogie alongside Amanda Seyfried, Gillian Anderson, Stellan Skarsgård and Joanna Lumley.

2010–present[link]

Lee at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival

In 2010, Lee marked his fourth collaboration with Tim Burton by voicing the Jabberwocky in Burton's adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic book Alice in Wonderland alongside Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. While he only had two lines, Burton said that he felt Lee to be a good match for the iconic character because he is "an iconic guy".^[18]

Lee won the "Spirit of Hammer" award in the Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2010. The award was presented by Tony Iommi.

In 2010, Lee received the Steiger Award (Germany) and, in February 2011, Lee was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship.

In 2011, Lee appeared in The Resident alongside Hilary Swank^[19] and the critically acclaimed Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese.

On 11 January 2011, Lee announced on his website that he would be reprising the role of Saruman for the prequel film The Hobbit. Lee had originally said he would have liked to have shown Saruman's corruption by Sauron, but would not be comfortable flying to New Zealand at his age. A July 2011 behind-the-scenes featurette showed Jackson at the Pinewood Studios in London and Lee in make-up and costume as Saruman,^[20] so it would seem that production has been adjusted to accommodate Lee's travel concerns and allow him to participate in the film. Lee has stated that he worked on his role for the films over the course of four days and that he is portraying Saruman as a kind and noble wizard, before his subsequent fall into darkness, which audiences have seen in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

In 2012, Lee marked his fifth collaboration with Tim Burton by appearing in his film adaptation of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.

Voice work[link]

With his classically-trained bass voice, Lee sings on the The Wicker Man soundtrack, performing Paul Giovanni's psych folk composition, "The Tinker of Rye".^[21] He sings the closing credits song of the 1994 horror film Funny Man.^[22] His most notable musical work on film, however, appears in the strange superhero comedy/rock musical The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) in which Lee performs with a song and dance number called "Name Your Poison", written by Richard O'Brien.

In the 1980s, during the height of Italo Disco, Lee provided vocals to Kathy Joe Daylor's "Little Witch".

Lee reprised his role as Saruman in the video game The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth along with the other actors of the films.

Lee provided the off-camera voice of "U. N. Owen", the mysterious host who brings disparate characters together in Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (1965). The film was produced by Harry Alan Towers, for whom Lee had worked repeatedly in the 1960s. Even though he is not credited on the film, the voice is unmistakable.

Lee appears on Peter Knight and Bob Johnson's (of Steeleye Span) 1970s concept album The King of Elfland's Daughter. Lee provided the voices for the roles of DiZ (Ansem the Wise) in the video games Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, but was replaced by veteran voice actor Corey Burton for Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

He contributed his voice as Death in the animated versions of Terry Pratchett's Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters and reprised the role in the Sky1 live action adaptation The Colour of Magic, taking over the role from the late Ian Richardson.

He is fluent in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German, and moderately proficient in Swedish, Russian and Greek.^[23] He was the original voice of Thor in the German dubs in the Danish 1986 animated film Valhalla, and of King Haggard in both the English and German dubs of the 1982 animated adaptation of The Last Unicorn.^[24][25]

Lee bridged two disparate genres of music by performing a heavy metal variation of the Toreador Song from the opera Carmen with the band Inner Terrestrials.^[26] Lee narrated and sang for the Danish musical group The Tolkien Ensemble, taking the role of Treebeard, King Théoden and others in the readings or singing of their respective poems or songs.^[27] Lee appeared as a narrator for Italian symphonic fantasy power metal band Rhapsody of Fire, playing the Wizard King in the latest four albums: Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret, Triumph or Agony, The Frozen Tears of Angels and From Chaos to Eternity as well as the EP The Cold Embrace Of Fear - A Dark Romantic Symphony which is also a part of the saga in which he performs. He narrates several tracks on the albums, as well as singing a duet with lead vocalist Fabio Lione in the single "The Magic of the Wizard's Dream" from the Symphony of Enchanted Lands II album. Lee was the voice of Lucan D'Lere in the trailers for Everquest II.

Some thirty years after playing Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, Lee provided the voice of Scaramanga in the video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent.^[28]

In 2005, Lee provided the voice of the Pastor Galswells in The Corpse Bride co-directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson. He served as the narrator on The Nightmare Before Christmas's poem written by Tim Burton as well.

In 2007, Lee voiced the transcript of The Children of Húrin, by J. R. R. Tolkien for the audiobook version of the novel.

Lee reprised his role as Count Dooku in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars but did not voice the character in the TV series. Corey Burton took his place for the series.

Lee has been signed by Falcon Picture Group to host the syndicated radio series "Mystery Theater", a nightly two-hour program featuring classic radio mystery shows. The program is distributed by Syndication Networks Corporation with a launch date of 2 March 2009.

In 2010, Lee collaborated again with Tim Burton, this time by voicing the Jabberwocky in Burton's adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic book Alice in Wonderland.

Lee has provided the vocals for a symphonic metal concept album called Charlemagne.^[29] It was released on 15 March 2010.^[30]

Lee is working with Manowar while they are recording a new version of their first album, Battle Hymns. The original voice was done by Orson Welles.^[31] The new album, Battle Hymns MMXI was released on 26 November 2010.

On his 90th Birthday (27th of May 2012) he announced the release of his first Heavy Metal single "Let legend mark me as the King". The single is from his upcoming album "Charlemagne: The Omens of Death", signifying his move onto "full on" Heavy Metal. That makes him the oldest Heavy Metal performer in History. The music was arranged by Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest) and features World Guitar Idol Champion, Hedras Ramos. Youtube - Sir Christopher Lee Celebrates 90th Birthday by Releasing Heavy Metal Work

Honours[link]

In 2001, Lee was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II^[32] and was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2009 by Prince Charles.^[33][34][35] Lee was named 2005's 'most marketable star in the world' in a USA Today newspaper poll, after three of the films he appeared in grossed US$640 million.^[36] In 2011, Lee was awarded the BAFTA Academy Fellowship by Tim Burton.

In 2011, accompanied by his wife Birgit and on the 164th anniversary of the birth of Bram Stoker, Lee was honoured with a tribute by University College Dublin, and described his honorary life membership of the UCD Law Society as "in some ways as special as the Oscars".^[37][38] He was awarded the Bram Stoker Gold Medal by the Trinity College Philosophical Society, of which Stoker was President, and a copy of Collected Ghost Stories of MR James by Trinity College's School of English.^[39]

Personal life[link]

Lee with his wife, the Danish former model Birgit Kroencke Lee

The Carandinis, Lee's maternal ancestors, were given the right to bear the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Cinemareview cites: "Cardinal Consalvi was Papal Secretary of State at the time of Napoleon and is buried at the Pantheon in Rome next to the painter Raphael. His painting, by Lawrence, hangs in Windsor Castle".^[23][40]

Lee is a step-cousin of Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels.

He has been married to the Danish model Birgit "Gitte" Kroencke Lee since 1961. They have a daughter named Christina Erika Carandini Lee,^[40] who married Juan Francisco Aneiros Rodriguez in July 2001.^[41] Lee is also the uncle of the British actress Dame Harriet Walter.^[23]

Contrary to popular belief, Lee does not have a vast library of occult books. When giving a speech at the University College Dublin on 8 November 2011 he said: "Somebody wrote I have 20,000 books. I'd have to live in a bath! I have maybe four or five."^[42]

Lee is a supporter of the British Conservative Party, and described Michael Howard as "the ideal person to lead the party" in 2003.^[43]

On the 27th May 2012, Lee celebrated his 90th birthday.

Books[link]

• 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
• Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History by Jonathan Rigby, Reynolds & Hearn, 2001 and 2003
• Lord of Misrule (autobiography, a revised and expanded edition of Tall, Dark and Gruesome), Orion Publishing Group Ltd., 2004
• 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.

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

• The Wicker Man soundtrack (1973)
• Hammer Presents "Dracula" With Christopher Lee (EMI NTS 186 UK/Capitol ST-11340 USA, 1974)
• The Soldier's Tale by Stravinsky, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Lionel Friend (Nimbus, 1986)
• Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, with the English String Orchestra conducted by Yehudi Menuhin (Nimbus, 1989)
• Annie Get Your Gun (1995) JAY Records recording of Annie Get Your Gun
• The Rocky Horror Show (1995) JAY Records recording of The Rocky Horror Show
• Devils, Rogues & Other Villains (1998)
• Jinnah (1998)
• Superman 1979
• The King and I (1998) JAY Records recording of The King and I
• Musicality of Lerner and Loewe (2002) Christopher Lee sings Wandering Star on this recording Musicality of Lerner and Loewe
• Lord of the Rings: Songs and Poems by J. R. R. Tolkien (2003)
• Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret (2004)
• Triumph or Agony (2006)
• Revelation (2006)
• Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010)^[44]
• The Frozen Tears of Angels (2010)
• The Cold Embrace of Fear - A Dark Romantic Symphony (2010)
• Battle Hymns MMXI (2010)
• From Chaos to Eternity (2011)
• Charlemagne: Let legend mark me as the King (2012)
• Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Christopher Lee

• Christopher Lee at ChristopherLeeWeb.com (official website)
• Christopher Lee at the Internet Movie Database
• Christopher Lee at the TCM Movie Database
• Christopher Lee at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Christopher Lee at AllRovi
• 2006 article from The Spectator
• Christopher Lee on the making of legends and Jinnah
• Bizarre Magazine interview
• Concerning his role in The Lord of the Rings movies
• Guardian Unlimited Profile
• Starwars.com interview in which he mentions work with SOE
• Christopher Lee interview 2007
• Christopher Lee at FEARnet
• Christopher Lee Community