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Horror Legend Christopher Lee Dies Aged 93

Horror legend Sir Christopher Lee has died in a London hospital at the age of 93.

The British actor became a star in 1957 when playing the creature in The Curse Of Frankenstein.

Sir Christopher appeared in numerous other Hammer horror films, most notably playing Count Dracula, and was the villain Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun.

He cemented his fame when he starred as Saruman in Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit films, and appeared as Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels.

He never stopped working and only last year marked his 92nd birthday by releasing a heavy metal version of the Frank Sinatra classic My Way.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea confirmed that a death certificate had been issued for the star, who died on Sunday at a local hospital.

His agent declined to confirm the news, saying only that his family wished to make no comment.

Tributes have been paid to Sir Christopher who had fans all over the world.

Sir Roger Moore, who starred as 007 alongside Sir Christopher's Scaramanga, tweeted: "It's terribly (sad) when you lose an old friend, and Christopher Lee was one of my oldest. We first met in 1948."

London mayor Boris Johnson tweeted a photo of him holding a light sabre while posing with the actor.

He wrote: "Really sad to hear about the death of Christopher Lee, one of the greatest British actors and a master of the macabre."

Film critic Jonathan Ross wrote: "So sad to hear that Sir Christopher Lee has died. A great actor, a great star, a surprisingly good singer and a lovely lovely man."

His Lord Of The Rings co-star Dominic Monaghan paid tribute, saying: "So, so sorry to hear that Christopher Lee has passed away. He was a fascinating person. Threw a Bic pen into a tree in front of me."

Actor Mark Gatiss wrote: "The great, always criminally underrated Sir Christopher Lee has left us. A Titan of cinema and a huge part of my youth. Farewell."

Sir Christopher was awarded with a BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and two years ago his friend Johnny Depp presented him with one from the British Film Institute.

Depp, who worked with the veteran on several Tim Burton projects including Sleepy Hollow, sneaked into the awards ceremony to surprise his friend.

Sir Christopher is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Gitte, and daughter Christina.