Michael Gambon RIP
The second actor to portray Albus Dumbledore has passed.
“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon,” a statement from his family said. “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.”
The Irish actor’s presence added gravity and dignity to any production he was a part of. He started off in the theater during the 1960s and was taken under the wing of Sir Laurence Olivier. His film debut was in Olivier’s Othello. Cubby Broccoli was so impressed he asked him to audition for Bond when Lazenby didn’t work out.
While primarily a stage actor Gambon was frequently recruited into the cinema. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that he began to drift into genre films with Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.
In 2002 Richard Harris died and Gambon took on the part he is best known for today.
Gambon told an interviewer that, when playing Dumbledore, he does not “have to play anyone really. I just stick on a beard and play me, so it’s no great feat. I never ease into a role – every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. I’m not really a character actor at all.”
Michael Gambon
1940-2023
