Actor Michael Gambon, best known for portraying Albus Dumbledore in the majority of the “Harry Potter” films, passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 after suffering from a “bout of pneumonia,” according to a statement released on behalf of his family.
“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon,” the statement issued by his publicist Clair Dobbs said, according to PA.
“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.”
Gambon was well-known for his enormous body of work in television, film, and radio, with one of his most notable performances being the psoriasis-stricken detective in the popular 1980s series “The Singing Detective.”
Gambon, one of the most prominent actors of his period, was born in Cabra, Dublin, but moved to London when he was a little child. His first position was as an apprentice toolmaker. He was born and raised in a Camden neighborhood of Irish immigrants.
He developed a lifelong love of vintage firearms, timepieces, and automobiles.
“I’ve always been an obsessive collector of things,” he told a Guardian interviewer in 2004. “Richard Briers collects stamps. I collect cars and guns, which are much more expensive, and much more difficult to store.”
Gambon attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art while working as an apprentice toolmaker. He made his professional theatrical debut in the 1962 production of “Othello” at Dublin’s Gate Theatre.
He attracted the notice of actor Laurence Olivier, who invited him to join the National Theatre Company after it had just been established. Gambon finally got the chance to portray the title roles in his favorite Shakespearean plays when he joined the Birmingham Repertory Company four years later.
Gambon didn’t become well-known until the 1980s, when he starred as Philip Marlow in the 1986 Anglo-American public television miniseries “The Singing Detective.”
