ISTANBUL
British actor Christopher Lee – best known as a movie villain in roles like Dracula and as the evil wizard Saruman in the Lord of the Rings series – has died at the age of 93, his family revealed on Thursday.
The actor had been hospitalized in London for respiratory problems and heart failure, U.K. newspaper The Guardian reported. Lee passed away on Sunday.
The veteran performer's first film was 1948 drama Corridor of Mirrors, directed by Terence Young.
He found fame at the end of the 1950s after he started to work with British film-production company Hammer Pictures – going on to star in a slew of horror productions.
In 1969 he starred in spy/crime movie The Castle of Fu Manchu set in Istanbul and Spain and which was partially filmed in Turkey.
A colorful character, Lee also released a symphonic heavy metal concept album called Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010.
