The REAL 007

The funniest part of any lists of the many achievements of the actor Christopher Lee (1922-2015) is that at one point he played a Bond villain because one may say that he - in real life - was the famous movie agent, James Bond, alias 007. How come when James Bond after all was a fictional character by Ian Fleming? Well, the inspiration for the famous author's still much beloved English super agent was his cousin, i.e. the actor Christopher Lee.

As they were cousins I take it that both of them may have been descendants of Charlemagne. At least Christopher Lee was and, what's more, they even look alike.

The Medieval emperor Charlemagne is a most impressive forefather who is known as the "father of Europe". In 800 Pope Leo III crowned him Holy Roman Emperor, and at his death in 814, his empire encompassed a large part of Western Europe. Neither Christopher Lee nor his cousin, Ian Fleming, inherited this illustrious royal status which is not valid today, but notorious acting brought on a title of "Sir" to the family.

To many/most people Christopher Lee still is best known as Dracula or some other vile creature as he often portrayed villains like him. He was very tall, and his personality as well as his commanding voice gave him an aura of natural authority which is perfect for special kinds of movie villains, but in real life he was a hero who fought monsters, namely Nazis in World War II. Much of what he achieved in his capacity of a genuine agent may be even more impressive than what is known today. As to this part of his career he retired from the RAF in 1946 with the rank of flight lieutenant.

 

I remember an interview with his Danish wife, the model Gitte, and she was asked whether he was as frightening at home as in his many film roles. She laughed and called him the kindest and sweetest man she knew. According to her there were no traces of the blood thirsty Count Dracula in his personality. 

 

In my opinion the monster Dracula is not as interesting as one of the other villains he played: The Tolkien-character of Saruman. Christopher Lee was the blood sucking Count Dracula in several horror movies, but as Saruman he had more material to play with - so to speak. Funnily enough he was the only one of the actors from these movies who knew Tolkien in person, which is one more of the many strange or just funny coincidences of his life.  

 

Movies obviously wasn't enough for him as he also delved into a musical career: He both sang and recorded music between 1986 and 1998. Amazingly enough he worked with several heavy metal bands when he was in his eighties. All in all he was a truly impressive man from the very beginning to the end of his life. 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Lee

 

 

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/charlemagne 

 

 

Wikipedia