Prolific actor experienced late-life resurgence. Story by Matt Cummings Depending on who you talk to, Actor Christopher Lee was either that scary guy from 60/70s horror cinema or that scary guy in the Star Wars prequels and Lord of the Rings . Either way, Lee's death on Sunday of heart failure reminds us of the incredible late-career resurgence which the Son of Dracula experienced, a fact that doesn't happen too often in the grind that is Hollywood. Born Christopher Frank Carandini Lee in Belgravia, Westminster, England on May 27, 1922, Lee was a military brat whose father and mother divorced when he was young. Before he became an actor, Lee had volunteered to fight against the Soviet Union in 1939, later serving the RAF and British intelligence during WWII. That period seems to have been an important turning point for Lee, who later remarked that his willingness to do so many horror films was nothing compared to what he had seen as a spy for the British governm