RIP: Ron Moody & Christopher Lee
Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 8:19PM Though their careers were dissimilar, their images were not. The cinema lost two of its most deeply enjoyable sharp eyed bearded villains this week: Oscar nominee Ron Moody (Oliver!), died yesterday at 91 years of age; screen legend Christopher Lee's passing was also just announced though he died last week at 93. Both of these British actors, born in the 1920s, were best known for indelible villains and sorcerers and both were singers, too. From there, of course, the careers significantly diverge.
Ron Moody was always best known as "Fagin," the petty thief with a whole gang of young pickpockets at his disposal in the Best Picture winner Oliver! (1968) for which he received a Best Actor nomination and won the Golden Globe. The role stuck to him as forcefully as the Emcee clung to Joel Grey defining him for decades and decades and audiences of multiple generations. His movie career, though it spanned 33 films, didn't contain many other highlights but he did play the sorcerer Merlin in two Disney films Unidentified Flying Oddball and A Kid in King Arthurs Court. He returned to the stage often including revivals of Oliver! (He didn't seem to resent how much Fagin defined him, calling the musical "magic".)
If you ask people to name Sir Christopher Lee's most famous role, on the other hand, they might well hesitate. There is nothing definitive or, rather, there is too much that is definitive. He was a genuine screen legend and worked what seemed like non-stop from 1948 through 2015 appearing in nearly 200 films before his death. Today it's nothing new for actors to be defined by franchise stardom but Christopher Lee was doing forever. He was best known for decades as the face of "Dracula" for Hammer Horror in several films, "Fu Manchu" in multiple films and "Rochefort" in two Three Musketeer films. The actor's fame rose again late in life through prominent popular roles such as "Count Dooku" in the Star Wars franchise and the wicked sorceror "Saruman" multiple times in Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptations.
Please share your favorite screen memories of these two acclaimed Brits.
Reader Comments (16)
I hadn't heard about Ron Moody, a shame but 91 is a good long life. He did so much but he'll always be Fagin for me. Christopher Lee, another one with a nice long and active life had a mind boggling amount of credits. I'm not a horror fan so I missed a large portion of that part of his filmography but he was terrific in The Three and The Four Musketeers and then I don't know how many times I've watched Lee Grant plow right over him as a bitch on wheels in Airport '77.
This is a terrible day. These two, Ornette Coleman, Rocky producer Robert Chartoff, and one of my favorite wrestlers, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. All passed away in the past 24 hours.
I really loved Christopher Lee in The Wicker Man, but also in all his Hammer films. He's a great example of the right way to do genre acting.
This is a full-on day of mourning in the Brayton house. Christopher Lee has been one of my icons as long as I've known what cinema was. Such a great career and such an immensely full, long life.
Moody is THE ULTIMATE Fagin,one of my fave non winning performances.
Yes to Lee as Legend that pharse is flung around too often now but he was IT.
There's nothing like Lee Grant in 70's Supreme Bitch mode,made me laugh.
RIP, Count Dracula and Lord Summerisle. What a great, long and varied and wonderful career Chris Lee had.
To many young people, he was Sauroman. To me he will always be Lord Summerisle.
My toddler loves watching the songs from Oliver! Sometimes she'll randomly point at the TV and say catchwords from the movie like, "buy," "where," "Fagin," "oom-pa," and "Oliver." I know it is considered a lesser best picture, but I think it's tremendous and Moody's tremendous in it.
R.I.P "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
The greatest testament to Lee's talent and industry longevity is that while people may remember him more fondly in certain roles, he is instantly recognizable and known as himself, not a character. No one says - "ooh, that's Saruman." He's Sir Christopher Lee.
As a kid, I was addicted to his horror films of the 60s. What a cool, icy presence he had. He usually appeared later in the movie, and when you saw him you knew you were in for some real excitement.
He was terrific in Airport 77. I always thought his character intentionally drowned himself just to get away from Lee Grant. This guy knew how to do subtext.
Be at peace.
Christopher Lee's death scene in "Mio in the Land of Faraway" (1987) also starring a very young Christian Bale:
https://youtu.be/zthvmJyu7U8?t=13m9s
Christoper Lee was a horror icon, a master character actor and true movie legend. He is terrifying sexually seductive Dracula. His other classic performance in the still disturbing " The Wicker Man" and in "The Man With The Golden Gun" as the anti-Bond villain. He could also play heroes as in "The Devil Rides Out" Lee might have been our modern man of a thousand face the great Ron Moody was the definite Fagin.
I always loved cristopher lee. How about Charlie and the chocolate factory or Hugo. He was also in BP winner hamlet. I will really misses Christopher Lee
Moody in drag in the very scary "Flight of the Doves"