As someone who avidly watched the seemingly endless battles between Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in the Hammer 'Dracula' films, I was truly saddened to hear of the death of Mr Lee.
To me he represents the passing of an old line of gentlemanly actors, and I only hope that he is reunited with his old screen nemesis.
In my mind, he will always be Dracula, as I felt he embodied the character so well.
I remember feeling conflicted when he played Scaramanga in the Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun , as he was (in my mind at least), typecast as Dracula.
Of course he also achieved cult recognition as Lord Summerisle in the original Wicker Man film, and widespread recognition latterly in The Lord Of The Rings - infact he was the only cast member who had actually met Tolkien.
He also dabbled in Death Metal, I kid you not.
His acting career spanned hundreds of films.
His first Hammer role was in 'The Curse of Frankenstein', followed by 'The Mummy' , but to me it was with 'Dracula, Prince of Darkness' that he cast an inspirational figure - well, as inspirational as an immortal bloodsucker could be.
He reprised the Dracula role five times.
Peter Cushing as Van Helsing was often his foil, and between them we had the age old battle of good and evil.
He and Peter Cushing, were, in real life, great friends, although the only film in which they were allies was 'Horror Express'.
Will they walk and talk together in the Summerland of yore ?
Will they finally resolve the age old struggle between light and dark ?
I just want to say a heartfelt farewell to a true titan of the silver screen.
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