Sir Christopher Lee (1922 - 2015)

Whenever I think of Christopher Lee, two characters invariably come to mind: Count Dracula and Saruman. His portrayal of villains somehow is so much more impactful than his acting as good guys.

I remember the one and only Dracula movie I had ever watched - "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" way back in 1968 when I was just a Form 4 school boy. A school friend of mine invited me to watch this black and white movie in the Capital Cinema. Since we could not make it for the first show, we decided to watch the second show which was to start at 9.00 pm. By the time it ended, it was 11.00 pm. In those days, the last public bus that traversed the road leading to my home was at 7.00 pm. Taxi was almost non-existent then. Even if there was, it was way beyond our means to charter one. The only way was to walk on foot from the cinema back to my home along Harrington Road, now renamed Jalan Istana. Walking alone along an unlit road and without seeing or meeting anybody or a vehicle was nerve wrecking. This was made worse by the scenes of the eerie castle and the bloodsucking vampire kept replaying in the mind.

 

There was one particular spot along the road where a man had previously committed suicide by hanging himself in a tree not far from the road side. By the time his body was discovered due to the strong stench, his remain was practically bones and pieces of rotten flesh. You can just imagine the fear and horror the imagination of vampire combined with walking skeleton could cause in a young boy's mind! That was truly one most frightful walk of my life. Because of this, I could never forget Christopher Lee!

 

One of the qualities of Christopher was his lack of marital scandal which is sadly so prevalent in Hollywood nowadays. His marriage to his wife Birgit Kronke Lee lasted more than 54 years from 17 March 1961 till he died on 7 June 2015.

Christopher Lee as Saruman in the "Lord of the Ring"

Christopher Lee was not only a good actor, he was also known for his singing ability. This I discovered much later (view here).

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Capital Cinema then.

Capital Cinema, the yellow-roof building was a prominent landmark and a favorite place for hang-out and watching movies in those days. The seafront at Kampong Air where Asia City, KK Hilton Hotel and Plaza Shell are now sited had yet to be reclaimed.