Richard John Harris (1 October 1930 â€" 25 October 2002) was an Irish
actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as
Frank Machin in This Sporting Life, for which he was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor, and as King Arthur in the 1967 film
Camelot, as well as the 1981 revival of the stage musical.He played an
aristocrat captured by American Indians in A Man Called Horse (1970),
a gunfighter in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992),
Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000), and Albus Dumbledore in
the first two Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's
Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), the
latter of which was his final film role. He was replaced by Michael
Gambon for the remainder of the series. Harris had a number-one
singing hit in Australia and Canada, and a top-ten hit in the United
Kingdom, Ireland, and United States with his 1968 recording of Jimmy
Webb's song "MacArthur Park." In 2020, he was listed at number 3 on
The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.Harris was born
on 1 October 1930, in Limerick.
actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as
Frank Machin in This Sporting Life, for which he was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor, and as King Arthur in the 1967 film
Camelot, as well as the 1981 revival of the stage musical.He played an
aristocrat captured by American Indians in A Man Called Horse (1970),
a gunfighter in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992),
Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000), and Albus Dumbledore in
the first two Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's
Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), the
latter of which was his final film role. He was replaced by Michael
Gambon for the remainder of the series. Harris had a number-one
singing hit in Australia and Canada, and a top-ten hit in the United
Kingdom, Ireland, and United States with his 1968 recording of Jimmy
Webb's song "MacArthur Park." In 2020, he was listed at number 3 on
The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.Harris was born
on 1 October 1930, in Limerick.
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