Michael Gambon, the Irish-born actor knighted for his storied career on the stage and screen and who gained admiration from a new generation of moviegoers with his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight 鈥淗arry Potter鈥� films, has died. He was 82.
A statement by his family, issued by his publicist Thursday, said the actor died following 鈥渁 bout of pneumonia.鈥�
鈥淲e 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,鈥� his family said.
While the Potter role raised Gambon鈥檚 international profile and found him a huge audience, he had long been recognized as one of Britain鈥檚 leading actors. His work spanned TV, theater and radio, and he starred in dozens of films from 鈥淕osford Park鈥� and 鈥淭he King鈥檚 Speech鈥� to the animated family movie 鈥淧addington.鈥� He recently appeared in the Judy Garland biopic 鈥淛udy,鈥� released in 2019.
Gambon was knighted for services to drama in 1998.
The role of the much loved Professor Dumbledore was initially played by another Irish-born actor, Richard Harris. When Harris died in 2002, after two of the films in the franchise had been made, Gambon took over and played the part from 鈥淗arry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban鈥� through to 鈥淗arry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2.鈥�
He once acknowledged not having read any of J. K Rowling鈥檚 best-selling books, arguing that it was safer to follow the script rather than be too influenced by the books. That didn鈥檛 prevent him from embodying the spirit of the powerful wizard who fought against evil to protect his students.
Fiona Shaw, who played Petunia Dursley in the 鈥淗arry Potter鈥� series, recalled Gambon telling her how central acting was to his life.
鈥淗e did once say to me in a car 鈥業 know I go on a lot about this and that, but actually, in the end, there is only acting鈥�,鈥� Shaw told the BBC on Thursday. 鈥淚 think he was always pretending that he didn鈥檛 take it seriously, but he took it profoundly seriously.鈥�
Born in Dublin on Oct. 19, 1940, Gambon was raised in London and originally trained as an engineer, following in the footsteps of his father. He made his theater debut in a production of 鈥淥thello鈥� in Dublin.
In 1963 he got his first big break with a minor role in 鈥淗amlet,鈥� the National Theatre Company鈥檚 opening production, under the directorship of the legendary Laurence Olivier.
Gambon soon became a distinguished stage actor and received critical acclaim for his leading performance in 鈥淟ife of Galileo,鈥� directed by John Dexter. He was frequently nominated for awards and won the Laurence Olivier Award 3 times and the Critics鈥� Circle Theatre Awards twice.
A multi-talented actor, Gambon was also the recipient of four coveted British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for his television work.
He became a household name in Britain after his lead role in the 1986 BBC TV series 鈥淭he Singing Detective,鈥� written by Dennis Potter and considered a classic of British television drama. Gambon won the BAFTA for best actor for the role.
Gambon was versatile as an actor but once told the BBC of his preference for playing 鈥渧illainous characters.鈥� He played gangster Eddie Temple in the British crime thriller 鈥淟ayer Cake鈥� 鈥� a review of the film by the New York Times referred to Gambon as 鈥渞eliably excellent鈥� 鈥� and a Satanic crime boss in Peter Greenaway鈥檚 鈥淭he Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.鈥�
He also had a part as King George V in the 2010 drama film 鈥淭he King鈥檚 Speech.鈥� In 2015 he returned to the works of J.K. Rowling, taking a leading role in the TV adaptation of her non-Potter book 鈥淭he Casual Vacancy.鈥�
Gambon retired from the stage in 2015 after struggling to remember his lines in front of an audience due to his advancing age. He once told the Sunday Times Magazine: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a horrible thing to admit, but I can鈥檛 do it. It breaks my heart.鈥�
Gambon was always protective when it came to his private life. He married Anne Miller and they had one son, Fergus. He later had two sons with set designer Philippa Hart.
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