Richard Harris

Richard Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, appearing as Frank Machin in This Sporting Life, and King Arthur in the 1967 film Camelot and the subsequent 1981 revival of the show. He played an aristocrat and prisoner in A Man Called Horse (1970), a gunfighter in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992), Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000), and Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Chamber of Secrets (2002), the latter of which was his final film role. Harris had a top ten hit in the United Kingdom with his song "MacArthur Park", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1968.

Harris was born in Limerick, Ireland, and was educated at Crescent College. He was a talented rugby player, a sport he remained passionate about throughout his life. He appeared on stage in London's West End as Hank McCune in The Quare Fellow, and in the musical Camelot. His first film role was in Alive and Kicking in 1959.

In 1984, Harris was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphatic cancer, but continued to work and in 1992 received the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. He died in 2002 at the age of 72.