Michael Gambon, the Irish-born actor knighted for his storied career on the stage and screen and who gained admiration from a new generation of moviegoers with his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight 含羞草研究社淗arry Potter含羞草研究社� films, has died. He was 82.

A statement by his family, issued by his publicist Thursday, said the actor died following 含羞草研究社渁 bout of pneumonia.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淲e 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,含羞草研究社� his family said.

While the Potter role raised Gambon含羞草研究社檚 international profile and found him a huge audience, he had long been recognized as one of Britain含羞草研究社檚 leading actors. His work spanned TV, theater and radio, and he starred in dozens of films from 含羞草研究社淕osford Park含羞草研究社� and 含羞草研究社淭he King含羞草研究社檚 Speech含羞草研究社� to the animated family movie 含羞草研究社淧addington.含羞草研究社� He recently appeared in the Judy Garland biopic 含羞草研究社淛udy,含羞草研究社� released in 2019.

Gambon was knighted for services to drama in 1998.

The role of the much loved Professor Dumbledore was initially played by another Irish-born actor, Richard Harris. When Harris died in 2002, after two of the films in the franchise had been made, Gambon took over and played the part from 含羞草研究社淗arry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban含羞草研究社� through to 含羞草研究社淗arry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2.含羞草研究社�

He once acknowledged not having read any of J. K Rowling含羞草研究社檚 best-selling books, arguing that it was safer to follow the script rather than be too influenced by the books. That didn含羞草研究社檛 prevent him from embodying the spirit of the powerful wizard who fought against evil to protect his students.

Fiona Shaw, who played Petunia Dursley in the 含羞草研究社淗arry Potter含羞草研究社� series, recalled Gambon telling her how central acting was to his life.

含羞草研究社淗e did once say to me in a car 含羞草研究社業 know I go on a lot about this and that, but actually, in the end, there is only acting含羞草研究社�,含羞草研究社� Shaw told the BBC on Thursday. 含羞草研究社淚 think he was always pretending that he didn含羞草研究社檛 take it seriously, but he took it profoundly seriously.含羞草研究社�

Born in Dublin on Oct. 19, 1940, Gambon was raised in London and originally trained as an engineer, following in the footsteps of his father. He made his theater debut in a production of 含羞草研究社淥thello含羞草研究社� in Dublin.

In 1963 he got his first big break with a minor role in 含羞草研究社淗amlet,含羞草研究社� the National Theatre Company含羞草研究社檚 opening production, under the directorship of the legendary Laurence Olivier.

Gambon soon became a distinguished stage actor and received critical acclaim for his leading performance in 含羞草研究社淟ife of Galileo,含羞草研究社� directed by John Dexter. He was frequently nominated for awards and won the Laurence Olivier Award 3 times and the Critics含羞草研究社� Circle Theatre Awards twice.

A multi-talented actor, Gambon was also the recipient of four coveted British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for his television work.

He became a household name in Britain after his lead role in the 1986 BBC TV series 含羞草研究社淭he Singing Detective,含羞草研究社� written by Dennis Potter and considered a classic of British television drama. Gambon won the BAFTA for best actor for the role.

Gambon was versatile as an actor but once told the BBC of his preference for playing 含羞草研究社渧illainous characters.含羞草研究社� He played gangster Eddie Temple in the British crime thriller 含羞草研究社淟ayer Cake含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社� a review of the film by the New York Times referred to Gambon as 含羞草研究社渞eliably excellent含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社� and a Satanic crime boss in Peter Greenaway含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社淭he Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.含羞草研究社�

He also had a part as King George V in the 2010 drama film 含羞草研究社淭he King含羞草研究社檚 Speech.含羞草研究社� In 2015 he returned to the works of J.K. Rowling, taking a leading role in the TV adaptation of her non-Potter book 含羞草研究社淭he Casual Vacancy.含羞草研究社�

Gambon retired from the stage in 2015 after struggling to remember his lines in front of an audience due to his advancing age. He once told the Sunday Times Magazine: 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 a horrible thing to admit, but I can含羞草研究社檛 do it. It breaks my heart.含羞草研究社�

Gambon was always protective when it came to his private life. He married Anne Miller and they had one son, Fergus. He later had two sons with set designer Philippa Hart.

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