Richard Harris - Albus Dumbledore #1

Richard Harris - Albus Dumbledore

Richard St. John Harris was born on the 1st of October, 1930, to a farmer Ivan Harris, and his wife Mildred Harty, in Limerick, Ireland. He is one of nine children. Richard was a brilliant Rugby player in his youth, but sadly due to suffering from Tubercolosis as a teenager, his rugby dreams ended.

Richard studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). In 1956, after leaving LAMDA, he made his West End stage debut in "The Quare Fellow" at the Royal Stratford theatre. In 1957, he made his TV debut (UK) starring in "The Iron Harp", then in 1958, Richard starred in his first movie "Alive and Kicking." Throughout these early years, Richard flitted between the three, starring in many films, TV series and Stage shows.

He reached a low point in his life in 1972, where he was rushed to hospital due to a suspected drugs overdose. Recovering from that, he then went on to battle alcoholism, before finally overcoming it in 1982.

On his comeback, he starred as 'King Arthur' in "Camelot", a TV production. He then went on to perform in the stage production, taking over from the original lead, Richard Burton (a drinking pal of Richard's), who had fallen ill. Richard Harris performed between twenty to twenty-five weeks a year for five years, making the show take in over $92 million during that time.

In 1990, he made a movie comeback starring in "The Field", before teaming up with James Earl in 1995, starring in the remake of "Cry, the beloved country". Again, over the years, Richard starred in many films, such as "Gladiator" with Russell Crowe, and also performed with his son, Jared Harris, on stage in Hamlet, (with the help of some digital technology) as the ghost of Hamlet's father.

Many of us only saw him perform for the first time as Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorceror's Stone". Performing the role exactly how thousands of people imagined Dumbledore to be, he went on to reprise the role in "Chamber of Secrets". Richard only took up the role of Dumbledore, due to his grand-daughter telling him, she'd never speak to him ever again, if he turned it down. Thank our lucky stars for her!

Throughout his career, Richard has many awards under his belt, from Lifetime Achievement Awards, to Golden Globes, plus the odd Oscar nominations.

Sadly, Richard Harris died on the 21st October 2002 from Hodgkins Disease. He will be sadly missed, but fondly remembered, not only as Albus Dumbledore, but as one of the greatest stars of all time.

Facts about Richard Harris

Full name: Richard St. John Harris
Date of Birth: 1st October 1930
Born: Limerick, Ireland
Date of Death: 25th October 2002
Height: 6' 1"
Parents: Father Ivan Harris was a Farmer, mother was Mildred Harty
Siblings: Had 8 siblings
Spouse: Ann Turkel (1974 - 1982 Divorced); Elizabeth Rees (1957 - 69 divorced)
Children: 3 Sons - Director, Damian Harris, and Actors, Jared Harris, and Jamie Harris.

Published on: 2005-07-19 (5428 reads)

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Richard Harris - Albus Dumbledore #1