Sad news today. Benjamin Lee, writing for The Guardian:

Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93 after being hospitalised for respiratory problems and heart failure.

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.

The decision to release the news days after was based on his wife’s desire to inform family members first. The couple had been married for over 50 years.

Christopher Lee was definitely one of the all time greats. I loved the insane intensity and total commitment with which he inhabited each and every one of his roles. There were far too many of them to pick one as the cornerstone of his legacy, but I’ll always have fond memories of Francisco Scaramanga, the cold-blooded assassin he portrayed in 1974’s James Bond movie, The Man With The Golden Gun. That movie was a personal favorite of mine growing up, and Mr. Lee’s performance was mostly to blame for that. He will be sorely missed.