The world was devastated when news of Sir Christopher Lee's death was announced on Thursday.

The veteran actor passed away at 8:30 AM Sunday at Chelsea and Westminister Hospital. The cause of death was heart failure and respiratory problems. Lee was 93 years old.

The actor's career spans almost seven decades, and he is best remembered for playing Dracula in several Hammer Films in the 1960's. Younger fans would know him as Count Dooku in the 'Star Wars' prequels, and as Saruman in the 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' film trilogies.

Lee's friends and fans were quick to pay tribute to the actor on social media. Samuel L. Jackson tweeted, "Christopher Lee was a kind & most gracious man, that embodied the words Gentleman & Pro. I'm enriched by my time spent with him!"

In addition to being a successful actor, Lee is an accomplished opera and heavy metal singer. He released two metal albums dedicated to Charlemagne, who is actually Lee's ancestor.

Sir Roger Moore and Britt Eckland also posted tweets about their friend. Lee played Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun.'

James Bond author Ian Fleming is actually Lee's cousin, and the writer had initially wanted the former SaS agent to play his fictional spy. Although plans didn't push through, Lee was still cast and became one of the most popular Bond villains.

Lee was also the only star of 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' film adaptations who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien. The actor was a big fan of the writer and had initially auditioned for the role of Gandalf.

There were several rumors surrounding the late actor. There were speculations that he owned a library of 20,000 occult books, which he denied.

Lee is survived by his wife of 54 years, Lady Birgit Krøncke Lee, as well as his daughter Christina Erika Carandini Lee.