Actor Michael Gambon, best known for portraying Albus Dumbledore in the majority of the “Harry Potter” films, died at the age of 82 after a “bout of pneumonia,” according to a statement released on his behalf by his family on Thursday, PA Media reported.
“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon,” his publicist Clair Dobbs said in a statement, according to PA.
“Michael, a beloved husband and father, died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus by his side, following a bout of pneumonia.” Michael was 82 years old.”
“We ask that you respect our privacy at this painful time and thank you for your messages of support and love.”
Gambon was well-known for his broad body of work in television, cinema, and radio, including one of his most notable appearances as the psoriasis-ridden investigator in the 1980s popular series “The Singing Detective.”
Gambon, one of the finest actors of his period, was born in Cabra, Dublin, but went to London as a kid. He grew raised in Camden, England, in an Irish immigrant neighbourhood, and his first work was as an apprentice toolmaker.He acquired a lifelong interest in vintage firearms, clocks, and classic autos.
“I’ve always been an obsessive collector of things,” he said in a 2004 interview with the Guardian. “Richard Briers is a stamp collector.” I collect automobiles and firearms, which are far more costly and harder to keep.”
Gambon trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art while working as a toolmaker, and had his professional theatrical debut in “Othello” (1962) at Dublin’s Gate Theatre.
Laurence Olivier, the actor, saw him and hired him to join the newly founded National Theatre Company. Four years later, Gambon joined the Birmingham Repertory Company, where he finally got to portray the lead parts in his favourite Shakespeare plays.
Gambon rose to prominence in the 1980s as the protagonist character Philip Marlow in the Anglo-American public television miniseries “The Singing Detective.”
But Gambon is most known for his role as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore in the “Harry Potter” film series, which he took on after the death of Richard Harris in 2002. Gambon played Dumbledore in six of the eight “Harry Potter” films.
Tributes to the ‘legend’
In an Instagram post, Rupert Grint, who portrayed Ron Weasley in the series, paid homage to Gambon.
“I’m really sorry to hear about Michael. “Every day on set, he brought so much warmth and mischief,” Grint wrote. “He captivated me as a kid and became a personal role model of mine for finding the fun and eccentricities in life.”
On Thursday, James Phelps, who portrayed Ron Weasley’s brother Fred Weasley in the “Harry Potter” film trilogy, paid homage to Gambon on X, previously known as Twitter.
“I am really saddened to learn about Michael Gambon’s death. “On and off the screen, he was a legend,” Phelps wrote.
“He was always very funny and very welcoming to share any knowledge he had,” Phelps said, recalling working with the veteran actor between takes on the sixth “Harry Potter” film.
In addition, Fiona Shaw, who portrayed Harry Potter’s aunt Petunia Dursley in the films, told the BBC that Gambon “varied his career remarkably.”
Shaw further said Gambon was a “gun maker” who boasted that “he could fool the V&A [museum] into believing they were 18th century guns.”
“So I will think of him as a trickster, just a brilliant, magnificent trickster, but with text there was nothing like him, he could do anything.”
In an interview with the BBC, Helen Mirren also paid homage to Gambon, remembering his sense of humour.
“Naughty, but very, very funny,” she said. “He kept me constantly in laughter.”
Mirren also referred to Gambon as a “instinctive actor” who had made a “extraordinary contribution to the British landscape of theatre.”
Gambon received many Best Actor prizes at the British Academy Television prizes (BAFTAs) and was nominated for two Emmys over his career.
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