Michael Gambon, ‘Harry Potter’ star, dead at 82
Sir Michael Gambon, the legendary British actor who starred as Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, has died in hospital aged 82.
Gambon’s death has been confirmed by his wife, Lady Gambon, and their son Fergus. In a statement issued through publicist Clair Dobbs, they said: “We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon.”
The message continued: “Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia. Michael was 82. We ask that you respect our privacy at this painful time and thank you for your messages of support and love.”
Gambon’s career in acting began in the 1960s after he moved to England from Ireland, and alongside Laurence Olivier, he was an original member of the Royal National Theatre in London. The actor continued to hone his crafts for many years in theatre productions before pivoting into film, such as starring in 1989’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover opposite Helen Mirren.
Notably, Gambon also gained prominence on television for his role as the French detective Jules Maigret in the ITV series Maigret and his starring performance in the BBC programme The Singing Detective.
Following the death of Richard Harris, Gambon took up the role of Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise in 2004. After making his debut in Prisoner of Azkaban, he appeared in a total of six films.
During an interview with The Arts Desk in 2010, Gambon explained how he got his break into acting as a 16-year-old: “I started going to classes as the Royal Court, which you could just turn up for down in the basement run by George Devine. And then they transferred to the theatre at the top of Kingsway. George Devine used to teach. And I used to go to improvisation classes there, and then when Bill Gaskill was made a director of the National in ’63, for the opening year, he was auditioning. And so I wrote a letter to him and went along and auditioned for him.”
Looking back on his career and what he’d have done without acting, Gambon speculated: “Something to do with my hands. I don’t know the process of becoming an actor. I didn’t follow any route. It just happened because you want it. You couldn’t do it now because we live in a different world. There’s no Unity Theatre now hanging about, there’s no amateur theatre. Well, there is but you’d have a hard job. You’d end up playing small parts on the telly, which you wouldn’t want to do.”
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