Christopher Lee, Ornette Coleman, John C. Beck: Obits This Week

This week’s notable deaths included the British actor who played evil characters in more than 50 years of movie making; one of the most controversial and innovative musicians in jazz; and the founder of the management firm for Princeton University’s endowment, now the fifth-largest U.S. college fund. Below are summaries of these and other obituaries.

Christopher Lee, 93. Gained fame as Count Dracula and Frankenstein in U.K. horror films made starting in the 1950s. A half-century later, he was still portraying malevolent figures in the “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” series. Too tall at 6-foot-5 to play the romantic lead, he instead played monsters in many of the more than 250 films in which he appeared. Villains were “more interesting,” he said. “There’s a sadness about them.” Died June 11.