Tributes have been paid to veteran actor Christopher Lee who has died aged 93.
The star, who appeared in a string of horror films and played a Bond villain in 'The Man With The Golden Gun', enjoyed a career renaissance playing Saruman in the 'Lord Of The Rings' films.
Lee died on Sunday in hospital where he had been undergoing treatment for respiratory problems, British media reports said.
His agent declined to confirm the news, saying only that his family wished to make no comment.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London confirmed a death certificate was issued for Lee on Monday.
He never stopped working and last year marked his 92nd birthday by releasing a heavy metal version of the Frank Sinatra classic 'My Way'.
It was one of seven tracks on an album called Metal Knight he recorded with an Italian band called Rhapsody Of Fire.
Two years ago he was honoured with a fellowship from the British Film Institute presented by his friend Johnny Depp.
Depp, who has worked with Lee on several Tim Burton projects including 'Sleepy Hollow', sneaked into the awards ceremony to surprise his friend.
Lee amassed more than 250 screen credits, including his vampire appearances, his role as sinister Lord Summerisle in 'The Wicker Man' and his collaborations with Mr Burton.
He has often said that his title role in 'Jinnah', about the founder of Pakistan, is one of his favourite portrayals.
It's terribly when you lose an old friend, and Christopher Lee was one of my oldest. We first met in 1948.
— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) June 11, 2015So so sorry to hear that #christopherlee has passed away. He was a fascinating person. Threw a bic pen into a tree in front of me. #legend
— Dominic Monaghan (@DomsWildThings) June 11, 2015Really sad to hear about the death of Christopher Lee, one of the greatest British actors and a master of the macabre pic.twitter.com/q5UUhc7xId
— Boris Johnson (@MayorofLondon) June 11, 2015 The great, always criminally underrated Sir Christopher Lee has left us. A Titan of Cinema and a huge part of my youth. Farewell.
— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) June 11, 2015