Harry Potter actor Michael Gambon dies, aged 82

British-Irish actor Michael Gambon, best known for playing Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films, has died in hospital aged 82.

British actor Michael Gambon has died aged 82. Picture: AFP

British-Irish actor Michael Gambon, best known for playing Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films, has died in hospital aged 82, his family announced on Thursday.

Gambon won four television BAFTAs and an Olivier award during a decades-spanning acting career across television, film, radio and theatre, which was capped by his beloved role as the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts in the Potter series.

“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon,” a statement issued on behalf of his family said.

Gambon as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

“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, born in Ireland, began his illustrious acting career in theatre, making his first appearance on stage in a production of Othello at the Gates Theatre in the Irish capital Dublin in 1962.

He became well-known in Britain for playing a French detective in the ITV series Maigret, his 1986 role as Philip Marlow in screenwriter Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective and as a London gang boss in Peter Greenaway’s controversial 1989 film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, opposite Helen Mirren.

He put in a memorable performance in the BBC’s 2015 adaptation of JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, while his theatre credentials include appearances in Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests, The Life Of Galileo and Nicholas Hytner’s National Theatre productions of Henry IV.

Gambon with Helen Mirren in the 1989 film The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover.

Film roles included in period dramas such as 2010’s The King’s Speech and 2001’s Gosford Park.

But he won global acclaim for his performances as Dumbledore in the wildly popular Harry Potter films, beginning with 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Gambon was knighted for his contribution to the entertainment industry in 1998. Tributes began to pour in following news of his death.

“I’m so sad to hear that Michael Gambon has died,” former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson said on social media, recalling that the actor was such a “tremendous guest” he had a corner named after him on the BBC show’s race track.

“He was hugely amusing, and such a tremendous guest, we even named a corner after him.”

AFP