'Hobbit' Actor Christopher Lee Has Died

Hollywood has lost another, and one of its longest-shining stars. On Sunday, June 7, Christopher Lee died at age 93, after being admitted to Westminster Hospital for "respiratory problems and heart failure," according to the Hollywood Reporter. This news comes from his wife, Gitte Kroencke, who took the time to inform Lee's family of his passing before releasing the information to the media. Lee is best known for playing Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit films, but that's far from the only place fans would recognize the British actor from. He was also Count Dooku in Star Wars, Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun, and has played horror movie greats like Count Dracula and the Frakenstein monster.

In addition to playing such iconic roles, Lee also hung out with a lot of classic authors such as J. R. R. Tolkein (who wrote Lord of the Rings), and his step-cousin, Ian Fleming (who wrote James Bond). On top of that, he was a great singer who has released, of all things, metal albums such as 2013's Charlemagne: The Omens of Death. The actor has even released heavy metal Christmas music, proving that his interests went far beyond the big screen, and that his sense of humor is irreplaceable. This is, after all, the same man who was quoted as saying, "One should try anything he can in his career, except folk dance and incest."

Lee has so many acting credits to his name that it would be impossible to list them all now, but his effect on the acting world will never be forgotten. Naturally, fans have already begun flocking to Twitter in order to pay their respects, and offer their condolences to the grieving family.