R.I.P. Michael Gambon, Harry Potter's Dumbledore
Michael Gambon, who played Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies, died at age 82 after a bout of pneumonia
Michael Gambon, best known for playing Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in most of the Harry Potter movies, has died, according to Variety. He was 82 years old.
In a statement, his family confirmed, “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.”
Gambon was born in Dublin, Ireland, before moving to England with his family as a child, per the BBC. He began his career on the stage and was a founding member of Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre acting company in London. As a theater actor he won three Olivier Awards and was nominated an additional ten times. He also had a prolific career in film and television, winning four BAFTAs and two Screen Actors Guild Awards (as part of the ensembles of Gosford Park and The King’s Speech).
As extensive and varied as his credits may be, Gambon will likely be best remembered for taking over the role of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series. He joined the franchise with the third film, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, after the death of original Dumbledore actor Richard Harris. Fiona Shaw, who played Petunia Dursley, told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that she would remember her co-star “as a trickster, just a brilliant, magnificent trickster.” She said, “He varied his career remarkably and never judged what he was doing, he just played. … With text, there was nothing like him. He could do anything.”
“Magnificent Michael Gambon has died,” Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy, posted on Twitter/X. “I learned what acting could be from Michael in The Singing Detective—complex, vulnerable and utterly human. The greatest thrill of being in the Potter films was that he knew my name and shared his fearless, filthy sense of fun with me.”
Gambon is survived by his wife Anne and son Fergus, as well as his longtime partner Philippa Hart and their two sons Michael and William. R.I.P.