Michael Gambon, the actor best known for playing Professor Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films, has died. He was 82 years old.
“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon,” the actor’s publicist Clair Dobbs wrote in a statement, according to Deadline. “Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia. Michael was 82. We ask that you respect our privacy at this painful time and thank you for your messages of support and love.”
Gambon was a legend of both the stage, where he won three Olivier Awards and was a protégé of Laurence Olivier, and screen. Outside of the Harry Potter movies, which earned him the admiration of millions of millennials (he took over the role from the late Richard Harris), he also appeared in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox, Gosford Park, and Paddington and Paddington 2, where he’s the voice of Paddington’s uncle.
Because of memory loss, Gambon retired from the stage in 2015 but continued to work onscreen in the culmination of a brilliant career that spanned seven decades. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his services to drama in 1998.
Gambon is survived by his three sons.
(Via Deadline)