‘Beloved’ actor and Harry Potter star Michael Gambon dies aged 82
Michael Gambon arriving for the world premiere of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Ian West/PA)
Irish-born actor Michael Gambon has died peacefully in hospital, aged 82, his family has said.
Gambon, who has won four TV Baftas, is known for his extensive back catalogue of work across TV, film, radio and theatre over a career spanning five decades.
Gambon was born in Cabra in Dublin and in recent years he played Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films, stepping in after the death of Limerick-born actor Richard Harris.
He is also known for playing French detective Jules Maigret in ITV series Maigret, and for starring in the BBC series, The Singing Detective.
A statement issued on behalf of his wife Anne Gambon and son Fergus Gambon said: “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.”
Cork actress Fiona Shaw has said she will remember her Harry Potter co-star for being a “brilliant, magnificent trickster”.
Shaw, who played Petunia Dursley in the film 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.
“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.”
She also recalled working with him on the Harry Potter films: “He took over from Richard Harris and of course, he began to mimic Richard Harris, who had recently died, and he would do his accent, the slight Irish accent.
“Which of course he always loved having an excuse to do because his family had come from Ireland, and gone to live in Camden. He just loved the precariousness of reality and unreality and, of course, that made him a very great actor.”
Shaw added: “He did once say to me in a car ‘I know I go on a lot about this and that, but actually in the end, there is only acting’. I think he was always pretending that he didn’t take it seriously, but he took it profoundly seriously, I think.”
Leo Varadkar has hailed Gambon as a great actor who “gave his all to every performance”.
Referencing the Irish-born actor’s roles as Albus Dumbledore, on the stage, and in The Singing Detective series, Mr Varadkar wrote: “Rest In Peace. A great actor.
"Whether performing in (Samuel) Beckett, or a Dennis Potter or Harry Potter, he gave his all to every performance.”
