Richard Harris' personal archive acquired by University College Cork
A production shot of Richar Harris in Pirandello's 'Henry IV' with a note from Peter O' Toole. Picture: The Richard Harris Estate
The personal archives of one of Ireland’s greatest actors have been acquired by University College Cork. A treasure trove of items belonging to the late Richard Harris which has been gathered by his family will be permanently housed in UCC's Boole Library.
A preview of the collection was presented to members of the media by his son Jared Harris and UCC staff at the Richard Harris Suite at the Savoy Hotel in London.
Richard Harris had rented the suite for many years and, in the final chapter of his life, while being wheeled by stretcher from the hotel — when he was
already floored by the Hodgkin's disease that would cause his death on October 25, 2002 — he famously shouted, "'It was the food!'
That anecdote became one of many that has added to the legend of a man whose colourful talk-show appearances and antics involving drink and drugs ensures he is often branded with the tag of ‘hellraiser’. This extensive archive provides evidence there were many more sides to the star of such films as , , and the early Harry Potter adaptations.
His son is well aware Harris was instrumental in creating his roguish persona, as he played the media game and maintained a high public profile.
“But I do believe that towards the last third of his life, he realised that it was a trap, and that his other gifts weren't being considered in the light that they should have been,” said Jared Harris, himself a familiar face from such shows as , , and .
Among the hundreds of items in the collection Richard Harris had kept in his homes in Britain and the Bahamas are photographs, correspondence, and props, as well as his own creative writing. Letters from Ronald Reagan and Daniel Radcliffe, an annotated script from , a team photo from his Young Munster rugby days, and the Limerick-born actor’s best actor award from Cannes will be among the items shipped to UCC in the near future.
The archive’s journey to Cork began when Jared was put in contact with Barry Monahan of UCC’s Department of Film & Screen Media, and Crónán Ó Doibhlin, head of collections at UCC Library.
Never one to do anything in half measures, after finishing Camelot, he was asked if he knew where the crown went. He said 'No idea.' Then he appeared on the cover of Time magazine wearing it 😂. Happy Heavenly Birthday Dad. I miss you. pic.twitter.com/D1nuEH9QFG
— Jared Harris🎭 (@JaredHarris) October 1, 2022
Harris’s son was immediately impressed with the UCC team.
“When I spoke to Crónán and Barry, they understood the significance of it and what the opportunity represented,” said Jared. “It's like watching Indiana Jones discovering artefacts. The way that they hold them is completely different than anyone else.”
While the family of Richard Harris and the team at UCC are still exploring the hundreds of items being acquired by the Cork college, it is already clear that the material amounts to a very significant archive.
Barry Monahan, a renowned expert on the life and career of the Limerick-born actor, echoes the sentiment of Harris’s son Jared that the archive will allow people to go beyond the public image of the late star.
“He was an incredible actor, but he was also a writer of poetry and prose — he even hit the music charts in 1968, with ‘MacArthur Park’,” said Mr Monahan, at the preview of the archive at the Savoy Hotel in London.
“And we’ve heard all this stuff before about how he had a bit of a tiff with Brando and a bit of a tiff with Kirk Douglas, and the gas thing is that this archive has evidence of how for decades after, he kept in touch with them.”
Harris won the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1963 for his performance in .
Chuffed to win, he was reportedly unimpressed with the pair of cufflinks presented to him as his award. Jared Harris recalls as a child seeing them in his maternal grandfather’s house in London but he hadn’t been aware of them since. Last week, Jared got a nice surprise going through some of the material in storage.
“I was digging into boxes that hadn’t been opened yet, and suddenly pulled them out. I thought they were gone. And then I found the Golden Globe he’d won [for , in 1967].”
Richard Harris played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, but wasn’t in the best of health.
The UCC archive includes a get-well card from Daniel Radcliffe, who was perhaps 12 when he wrote it. The young star — who later revealed he has dyspraxia, a motor coordination disorder — bashfully signs off: “Ps. Sorry about the writing!”.
Other letters in the archive include a note from US president Ronald Reagan in 1986 expressing his condolences on the death of Harris’s brother Dermot, and a note from Kirk Douglas congratulating the star on his performance in .
Letters home to the family in Limerick give insight into his early struggles trying to progress as an actor in London, and later signs of improvement with stories of the likes of Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe visiting his rehearsals.
The archive also has the letter where Harris tells his parents about his intention to marry, and notes from his children in boarding school (‘Colditz’) looking forward to their holiday to the Bahamas. Another ebullient letter by Harris praises the achievements of his beloved Young Munster rugby club: “Pride of Limerick; toast of Ireland; envy of Cork.”
Harris published one book of poetry, and his son Jared was delighted to discover many more unseen poems and other writings.
“He loved Joyce, he loved Seamus Heaney… he devoured literature,” said Jared.
“And when we go to the Bahamas for holidays, he had one suitcase that was just full of books. And at some point, he disappeared up to his room for three days, and he just pored through books.”
While the archive will be housed in UCC and eventually made accessible to researchers and students, the Harris family’s links to Limerick will see the first public exhibition of the material taking place at the Hunt Museum in the city.
The Harris material is the latest acquisition in the Cork college’s expanding catalogue of such collections, and plans are also underway for a ‘treasures gallery’ where some of the pieces from the various collections would be put on public display in the Boole Library.
