Richard Harris

Irish actor and singer, star of This Sporting Life and Harry Potter films.

Richard Harris was an Irish actor and singer born on 1 October 1930 in Limerick, Ireland.^[1][2] He rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave after studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.^[3] The Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe are among the accolades he received.^[3]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birth name: Richard St John Francis Harris
Born: 1 October 1930
Birthplace: Limerick, Ireland
Died: 25 October 2002
Place of death: London, England
Occupation: Actor, singer
Education: London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Years active: 1947–2002

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Harris was the fifth of eight children born to flour merchant Ivan Harris and his wife Mildred.^[2] He was educated by the Jesuits at Crescent College and played rugby for Garryowen before tuberculosis ended his athletic career.^[2][4] He joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop after completing his studies.^[5] His first starring film role was as Frank Machin in This Sporting Life (1963), based on David Storey's novel.^[6]

Harris recorded the hit song "MacArthur Park," written by Jimmy Webb, which sold over one million copies.^[7][8] He appeared in two Academy Award Best Picture winners: Unforgiven (1992) and Gladiator (2000).^[9] He played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, his final film role being Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).^[9] Harris died of Hodgkin's disease on 25 October 2002 at University College Hospital in London.^[10]

In the 1967 film Camelot, he portrayed King Arthur, and he later brought that same character to the Broadway stage in 1981 at the Winter Garden Theatre.^[11]

What the cited sources add

The BBC News obituary notes that Harris's single "MacArthur Park" sold five million copies worldwide.^[12] The Guardian obituary states that Harris committed to all seven Harry Potter films because his granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he turned down the role.^[13] The Rake article describes Harris as an "excessive compulsive" who said "everything I do has to be excessive"^[14] The Irish Times list ranked Harris number 3 among Ireland's greatest film actors in 2020.^[3]

The Hello! magazine article confirms that Ann Turkel met Harris when she was a teenager and became his second and last wife.^[15]

References

Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Harris, Richard St John Francis (1930–2002), actor", 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Overdale, 8 Landsdown Villas, Ennis Road, LIMERICK MUNICIPAL BOROUGH, Limerick, LIMERICK", Buildings of Ireland; "He was one of the most outstanding film stars of his time", Irish Independent, 27 October 2002; Severo, "Richard Harris, Versatile And Volatile Star, 72, Dies", The New York Times, 26 October 2002; "Harris, Richard St John Francis (1930–2002), actor", 2004; "Richard Harris's Limerick childhood home for €785k", The Irish Times, 8 November 2018; "Living on a grand scale just a short hop from Limerick city", Irish Independent, en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clarke, "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order", The Irish Times, 13 June 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Limerick rugby full of heroes", Wesclark.com, 24 May 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Entertainment | Obituary: Richard Harris", BBC News, 25 October 2002 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Vagg, "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1963 and 1964", 30 July 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fresh Air interview with Jimmy Webb by Terry Gross on NPR, 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murrells, "The Book of Golden Discs", Barrie and Jenkins Ltd, 1978, p. 241; "What Is The Wedding Song In 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'?", UPROXX, 7 September 2024; Album liner notes for "Richard Harris – the Webb Sessions 1968–1969" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: LaSane, "THEN AND NOW: The cast of the 'Harry Potter' films 20 years later", Insider; Berardinelli, "ReelViews: The Ultimate Guide to the Best 1,000 Modern Movies on DVD and Video", Justin, Charles & Co., 1 February 2003 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Entertainment | Harris's Potter role unaffected by illness", BBC News, 30 August 2002; "Richard Harris dies", The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 October 2002; deBurca Butler, "Remembering Richard Harris – Bull, bard and boozing silverscreen superstar", Irish Independent, 23 October 2017; "Lionhearted – Death, Richard Harris", 26 May 2014; "Private funeral planned for actor", Ocala StarBanner, 27 October 2002; Leeman, "Actor Harris to Get Private Funeral", The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 26 October 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Richard Harris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Camelot movie review", rogerebert.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Entertainment | Obituary: Richard Harris", BBC News, 25 October 2002. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
"Richard Harris obituary", The Guardian, 28 October 2002. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
Cripps, "The Glory Days of the Hellraiser", The Rake, 1 September 2016. facts only, no text reused. therake.com
"Ann Turkel. Hello! magazine article", annturkel.com. facts only, no text reused. annturkel.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Richard Harris (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.