This is not an obituary or a career retrospective. This is simply one fan discussing his memories of an amazing man and tremendous actor — Sir Christopher Lee, who passed away earlier this week. There’s a popular meme making the rounds on Facebook detailing the accolades of Christopher Lee, ending with the line, “Now let’s see Chuck Norris top that.” I won’t discuss Lee’s absolutely badass life in great detail, but suffice to say he served in the military every year of WWII, was a highly ranked British officer, hunted Nazi war criminals, and was knighted for his contributions to the arts. This is about Christopher Lee the performer, a man born 93 years ago who had 281 IMDb credited roles and was probably the greatest screen villain in history.

Sad news across the world for geeks today, as word has reached us that the wonderful actor, Michael Gough, has passed away. He was 94 years old. To most people, Michael Gough was well known for his role as Alfred Pennyworth in the 1990’s Batman movie series, beginning with Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 and right through Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin in 1997.

However, this wasn’t Michael Gough’s first involvement in a franchise loved by geeks internationally. A very young Gough appeared as The Celestial Toymaker in Doctor Who back in 1965. The episode, The Celestial Toymaker, saw Gough act with the First Doctor William Hartnell. He would later appear with Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, playing a different role, in the episode Arc of Infinity.