Tributes pour in for ‘Harry Potter’ actor Michael Gambon, dead at 82
Tributes from across the world of pop culture have flooded in for the Irish actor Michael Gambon, who has passed away at the age of 82.
Best known for playing the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies, Gambon was a veteran of stage and screen. As well as playing the major role in the iconic franchise, Gambon also appeared in Peter Greenaway’s seminal 1989 film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover and Robert Altman’s Oscar-winning period drama Gosford Park.
Across the course of his six-decade-long career, he has been the recipient of three Olivier and four Bafta Awards. In 1999, he was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama.
The TV personality and former host of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, was quick to share his condolences, writing on X: “I’m so sad to hear that Michael Gambon has died. He was hugely amusing, and such a tremendous guest, we even named a corner after him”.
British actor Peter Egan added: “Deeply sad to see this. One of the funniest men on the planet and a great actor. I’ll miss him”.
Writer and comedian David Baddiel went on to add: “First time I ever went to see any Theatre with a capital T, it was Michael Gambon in Brecht’s Life Of Galileo at The National in 1980. It’s still the best stage acting I’ve ever seen. RIP”.
Fiona Shaw, who starred as Petunia Dursley alongside him in the Harry Potter franchise, told BBC Radio 4: “I will remember him because he was also a gun maker, he could he could make guns, he always said he could fool the V&A into believing that they were 18th century guns.“
Adding: “So I will think of him as a trickster, just brilliant, magnificent trickster, but with text, there was nothing like him, he could do anything.”
These tributes followed a statement from his family. Lady Gambon and his son Fergus Gambon announced: “We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. 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.“
Concluding: “We ask that you respect our privacy at this painful time and thank you for your messages of support and love.”
See all the tributes below.
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