Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee)

Datastream Actor: Christopher Lee Character: Francisco Scaramanga Movie: The Man With The Golden Gun Date of Birth: 27 May 1922 Height: 6’ 5” (1.95m) Distinguishing Feature: Supernumerary nipple Appearence: Tall, slim build, balding black/greyed hair, Cuban/British ancestry Status: Terminated Organisations & Alliances: Nic Nac, Hai Fat “Mr. Fat has just resigned. I'm the new chairman of the board.” Profile Francisco Scaramanga, known to the security services simply as “The Man With The Golden Gun”, is an elite assassin – demanding one million dollars per assasination. Highly sought after by crime syndicates all over the world, Scaramanga travels the globe, carefully selecting his ‘hits’.

An intelligent yet arrogant man, whose immense success in his chosen industry makes him overconfident when it comes to his showdown with 007. Generally polite and used to being in control, Scaramanga lives a low profile life on a remote island in Thailand.

"My golden gun against your Walther PPK, each of us with a 50-50 chance."

Scheme
Scaramanga has developed a high-powered monopoly on the latest energy device – the British-made “Solex Agitator”. With the power to harness and store vast amounts of solar energy, the concept should bring end to any nations energy crisis - provided they place the highest bid.

The Hong Kong millionaire, Hai Fat, provided the financial backing for the project. With full control of the “Solex Agitator” the villainous assassin can bribe any nation for any price. Any government unwilling to deal may meet with the full power of Scaramanga’s new solar powered weapon.

I've Been Expecting You “Personally, I've got nothing against you, Mr. Bond, and to keep it that way, let us hope our paths never cross again. Please don't try to follow me.” After 007 receives a death threat from this world-class assassin Bond eventually traces down Scaramanga and comes face to face again at a local kickboxing event. Bond is seconds too late to save the life of Scaramanga’s ill-kept mistress, but is able to trace the gunman back to his private island hideout for one last showdown...

Headquaters
At one million a job, Scaramanga can afford to live the high life, although the nature of his profession means the assassin must keep a low profile. His remote island in Phuket, Thailand proves the ultimate, luxurious hideaway. The multi-million dollar establishment has room for expansive dining rooms, living rooms, art galleries and Scaramanga’s “fun-house” - a maze of mirrors, dummies and spooky sound effects designed to keep the assassin’s eye and gun-arm in practice. The amazing establishment contained it's own self-sufficient solar power plant, run by one technician. Nick Nack served as the cook, waiter and housekeeper.

Gadgets & Vehicles When on the move, Scaramanga travels onboard his Chinese Junk – commonly moored in Hong Kong harbour. The Junk has recently been updated to become fully automated and is packed with a well stocked bar. Dress Code With immense pride in his appearance, Scaramanga invests in well-tailored suits, often in cream or white tones - offset with a black tie. For the more casual look, Scaramanga opts for a tropical style button-up shirt and plenty of gold jewelry, as a brash reflection of his wealth.

Goodbye, Mr Bond
"You see, Mr Bond, like all great artists I want to create one indisputable masterpiece: the death of 007."

Scaramanga’s building obsession with James Bond leads him to challenging 007 to a duel - pistols at ten paces. Bond has no choice but to accept the challenge after the assassin destroys Bond's only means of escape, the sea-plane he arrived in. Back to back on the beach of Scaramnga’s Taiwanese island Bond and this million-dollar-man face down in the true battle for gentlemen. Scaramanga’s downfall comes in the mirror room of his own “fun-house” and at the hand’s of 007’s Walther PPK.

Biography
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was born on May 27, 1922, in London England. Son of Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffry Trollop, Lee spent much of his childhood in Switzerland, after the separation of his parents. On his mother’s second marriage the family returned to London where Lee attended Wellington College before taking a job as an office clerk at a shipping line.

Lee volunteered to serve in the Finnish army during the Winter War and went on to serve in the RAF during the Second World War. He trained as fighter pilot but never flew in battle due to eyesight problems.

In 1946, Lee returned to England and in pursuit of an acting career. He won his first film role in 1948. The film was soon-to-be James Bond director Terence Young’s “Corridor of Mirrors”. From the beginning, Lee had strong connections to the James Bond family. Christopher Lee worked with Peter Cushing worked together on “Hamlet” in that very same year and thus forging the beginning of long friendship and close association on screen.

Soon, Lee had a steady career onboard classic style action and horror flicks before making his name in 1957’s Hammer horror “The Curse of Frankenstein” – again with Peter Cushing. He had a steady career on Hammer horror productions for over 20 years and it took several more to shake the stereotype of Dracula.

It was through films like James Bond’s “The Man With The Golden Gun”, 1975’s “Tommy” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy that secured Lee’s name as a true legend of the silver screen.