Richard Harris (actor)

Richard St John Harris (October 1, 1930 ? October 25, 2002) was an Irish actor. He appeared in Camelot (1967), A Man Called Horse (1970) and, at the end of his career, the first two Harry Potter movies. He was a notorious playboy and drinker, part of a rowdy generation of talented Irish and British actors that included Albert Finney, Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.

Biography

Harris was born in Limerick, Ireland, one of nine children of farmer Ivan Harris and Mildred Harris (nee Harty). He was schooled by the Jesuits at Crescent School (now Crescent College) and Sacred Heart Jesuit College. A talented rugby player, he was on several Munster Junior and Senior Cup teams for Crescent, and played for the well-respected Garryowen club. He may have gone on to become a professional rugby player, but his athletic career was cut short when he contracted tuberculosis in his teens.

Related Topics:
Limerick, Ireland - Jesuits - Crescent College - Tuberculosis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After recovering from the disease he moved to London, wanting to become a director. He could not find any suitable courses and enrolled in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) to learn acting. While still a student, Harris rented the tiny "off-West End" Irving Theatre, and directed his own production of the Clifford Odets play Winter Journey (The Country Girl). The show was a critical success, but a financial failure, and Harris lost all his savings on the venture. As a result, he ended up temporarily homeless, sleeping in a coal cellar for six weeks.

Related Topics:
London - London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art - West End - Clifford Odets

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After completing his studies at the Academy, Harris joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. He began getting roles in London stage productions, starting with The Quare Fellow in 1956.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1957, he married Elizabeth Rees-Williams, daughter of David Rees-Williams; they were divorced in 1969 and Elizabeth married another actor, Rex Harrison. Their three children are actor Jared Harris, actor Jamie Harris (christened Tudor St. John Harris, but known as 'Jamie' since childhood), and director Damien Harris. He married secondly to American actress Ann Turkel who was 16 years his junior, but that marriage also ended in divorce.

Related Topics:
1969 - Rex Harrison - Jared Harris

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harris made his film debut in 1958 in the film Alive and Kicking. For his role in Mutiny on the Bounty, despite being virtually unknown, he insisted on third billing, behind Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando. His first star turn was in the 1963 film This Sporting Life, as a bitter young coal miner who becomes an acclaimed rugby player.

Related Topics:
1958 - Alive and Kicking - Mutiny on the Bounty - Trevor Howard - Marlon Brando - 1963 - This Sporting Life - Coal

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He appeared as King Arthur in the film adaptation of Camelot (in which he was cast despite his limited singing range), and proceeded to appear on stage in that role for years. He recorded several albums, one of which included the seven-minute hit song "MacArthur Park" (which Harris mispronounced as "MacArthur's Park"); that song reached #2 on the United States Billboard magazine pop chart, while topping several charts in Europe, in the summer of 1968. In 1971, he starred in the film, Man in the Wilderness, and in the low-budget Orca in 1977.

Related Topics:
King Arthur - MacArthur Park - United States - Billboard magazine - 1968 - 1971 - Man in the Wilderness - Orca - 1977

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the end of the 1980s, Harris had gone a long time without a significant film role. He was familiar with the stage plays of fellow Irishman John B. Keane, and had heard that one of them, The Field, was being adapted for film by director Jim Sheridan. Sheridan was working with actor Ray McAnally on the adaptation, intending to feature McAnally in the lead role of Bull McCabe. When McAnally died suddenly during initial preparations for the film, Harris began a concerted campaign to be cast as McCabe. This campaign eventually succeeded, and the film version of The Field was released in 1990. Harris earned an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal.

Related Topics:
1980s - John B. Keane - The Field - Jim Sheridan - Ray McAnally - 1990 - Academy Award

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Late in his career, he acted in the Oscar-winning films Unforgiven and Gladiator (in the latter as Marcus Aurelius). He gained a new generation of fans as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films. In 2003, his voice could be heard as the character Opaz in the animated film, "". The movie was also dedicated to him as he had passed away the previous year.

Related Topics:
Unforgiven - Gladiator - Marcus Aurelius - Albus Dumbledore - Harry Potter - 2003

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was a member of the Knights of Malta, and was knighted for some inexplicable reason by the Lutheran country of Denmark. Harris died of Hodgkin's disease in 2002 at the age of 72, weeks before the second Harry Potter film was released. He would be replaced as Dumbledore by fellow Irish-born actor, Sir Michael Gambon.

Related Topics:
Knights of Malta - Denmark - Hodgkin's disease - 2002 - Second Harry Potter film - Michael Gambon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~