Friday Fun: Celebrate Christopher Lee's 90th birthday!

Christopher Lee -- long one of my absolute favourite actors -- is celebrating his 90th birthday on Sunday May 27.

I have fond memories of Lee as Dracula in the Hammer films of the 1950s and 1960s which I watched on TV as a very terrified little tyke. In fact, I can't imagine that today's parents would indulge their kids as much as mine did when it comes to watching extreme horror on tv. I mean, I was probably 7 or 8 when I started watching those old Hammer and other horror films.

Anyways, I seem no worse for wear.

And of course more recently I've really enjoyed his roles in the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films. He'll be in The Hobbit too, as Saruman again, but apparently something's been worked out so he won't have to travel to New Zealand.

Lee has a volume of memoirs that's well worth checking out: Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee. His website is also very fun. If you're interested in exploring more, there's also tons of links to his films on Amazon.. And a classical heavy metal CD, Charlemagne: By the Sword & The Cross, which I have but which isn't probably for most people. Don't say I didn't warn you about that one.

And all this got triggered in my brain because I saw a post on blastr inviting us all to Celebrate Christopher Lee's 90th with 15 awesome sci-fi moments. Check 'em out, they're wonderful! And discover some films you've never heard of and will definitely want to watch.