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in '''']] Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE (born May 27 , 1922 in Belgravia , London ) is a legendary and prolific English Actor known for his versatility, his professional longevity, and his distinctive '' Basso '' delivery. Lee is best known for his portrayals of '' and '' Charlie And The Chocolate Factory ''. Extensive biography at Tiscali UK EARLY LIFE Lee was born in London in 1922 , the son of Geoffrey Trollope Lee, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps , and the Marchesina Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano, whose grandfather had been an Italian political refugee who had sought refuge in Australia . Lee's mother was a famous Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery , as well as Oswald Birley , Olive Snell and sculpted by Clare Sheridan , a cousin of Winston Churchill . His parents separated when he was very young and his mother took Christopher and his sister Xandra to Switzerland , where Christopher was enrolled in Miss Fisher's Academy in Wengen and he played his first villainous role as '' Rumpelstiltskin ''. The family returned to London where Christopher attended Wagner's private school. His mother then married Harcourt 'Ingle' Rose, a Banker and uncle of the James Bond author Ian Fleming . Lee then attended Wellington College , where he won scholarships in Classics . He volunteered to fight for the Finnish forces during the Winter War against the Soviet Union in 1939 - though, as Lee admits in his autobiography, he and his fellow British volunteers were in Finland for a fortnight and kept well away from the Russian forces the whole time. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force and intelligence during World War II . He trained in South Africa as a pilot but was forced to drop out due to eye problems. He eventually ended up in North Africa as Cipher Officer for No. 260 Squadron RAF and was with them through Sicily and Italy. Additionally, he has mentioned serving in Special Operations Executive in interviews, and claims to know the sound a man makes when you stab him in the back and puncture his lung. Lee retired from the RAF after the end of the War in the rank of Flight Lieutenant . CAREER AS AN ACTOR In 1946 , Lee gained a seven-year contract with 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 in Australia , a fact of which Lee was unaware. He made his film debut in Terence Young 's Gothic Romance , '' Corridor Of Mirrors '', in 1948 . Throughout the next decade, Lee made nearly thirty films, playing mostly stock action characters. His first film for Hammer, made in 1956 with his close friend Peter Cushing , was '' The Curse Of Frankenstein '', in which he played "The Creature". That led to his first appearance as the infamous Transylvanian count in the 1958 film '' Dracula '' (known as ''Horror of Dracula'' in the U.S.) Lee would become indelibly associated with the role and with the horror genre, making another six films as Dracula, five of them for Hammer , as well as many other horror films. Lee has played roles in over 220 films since 1948 . He has had many notable Television roles, including that of Flay in the BBC television Miniseries '' Gormenghast '' that was based on Mervyn Peake 's novels and Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński in the 2005 CBS film, ''John Paul the Second''. HONORS In , 2001 ], BBC website. Lee was named , 2006 TRIVIA facing off against James Bond (played by Roger Moore ) in '' The Man With The Golden Gun '']]
BOOKS BY CHRISTOPHER LEE
SELECTED FILMS
NOTES AND REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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