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Richard HarrisAdd to My CelebsAge 72 (passed away Oct. 25th, 2002) Birthday Oct. 1st, 1930 Born in Limerick, Ireland Height 6' 1" |
Richard Harris' Main TV Roles
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Main Movie Roles2002 - The Count of Monte Cristo2002 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2001 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2000 - Gladiator 1998 - Sibirskiy tsiryulnik 1997 - Smilla's Sense of Snow 1997 - This Is the Sea 1995 - Cry, The Beloved Country 1993 - Wrestling Ernest Hemingway 1992 - Patriot Games 1992 - Unforgiven 1990 - The Field 1981 - Tarzan, the Ape Man 1978 - The Wild Geese 1977 - Orca 1976 - The Cassandra Crossing 1976 - The Return of a Man Called Horse 1976 - Robin and Marian 1974 - Juggernaut 1971 - Bloomfield 1971 - Man in the Wilderness 1970 - Cromwell 1970 - The Molly Maguires 1970 - A Man Called Horse 1967 - Camelot 1966 - Hawaii 1966 - The Bible: In the Beginning... 1965 - Major Dundee 1963 - This Sporting Life 1962 - Mutiny on the Bounty 1961 - The Guns of Navarone |
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at IMDB
A genuine star of cinema on screen and a fiery hell raiser off screen, Richard St John Harris was born on October 1, 1930 in Limerick, Ireland, to a farming family. He was an excellent rugby player and had a strong passion for literature. Unfortunately, a bout of tuberculosis as a teenager ended his aspirations to a rugby career, but he became fascinated with the theater and skipped a local dance one night to attend a performance of "Henry IV". He was hooked and went on to learn his craft at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, then spent several years in stage productions. He debuted on screen in Alive and Kicking (1959) and quickly scored regular work in films, including The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959), A Terrible Beauty (1960) and a good role as a frustrated Australian bomber pilot in The Guns of Navarone (1961).
However, his breakthrough performance was as the quintessential "angry young man" in the sensational drama This Sporting Life (1963), which scored him an Oscar nomination. He then appeared in the WW II commando tale The Heroes of Telemark (1965) and in the Sam Peckinpah-directed western Major Dundee (1965). He next showed up in Hawaii (1966) and played King Arthur in Camelot (1967), a lackluster adaptation of the famous Broadway play. Better performances followed, among them a role as a reluctant police informer in The Molly Maguires (1970) alongside Sir Sean Connery. Harris took the lead role in the violent western A Man Called Horse (1970), which became something of a cult film and spawned two sequels.
As the 1970s progressed, Harris continued to appear regularly on screen; however, the quality of the scripts varied from above average to woeful. His credits during this period included directing himself as an aging soccer player in the delightful Bloomfield (1971); the western The Deadly Trackers (1973); the big-budget "disaster" film Juggernaut (1974); the strangely-titled crime film 99 and 44/100% Dead (1974); with Connery again in Robin and Marian (1976); Gulliver's Travels (1977); a part in the Jaws (1975) ripoff Orca (1977) and a nice turn as an ill-fated mercenary with Richard Burton (I) and Roger Moore (I) in the popular action film The Wild Geese (1978).
The 1980s kicked off with Harris appearing in the silly Bo Derek vanity production Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981) and the remainder of the decade had him appearing in some very forgettable productions.
However, the luck of the Irish was once again to shine on Harris' career and he scored rave reviews (and another Oscar nomination) for The Field (1990). He then locked horns with Harrison Ford (I) as an IRA sympathizer in Patriot Games (1992) and got one of his best roles as gunfighter English Bob in the Clint Eastwood western Unforgiven (1992). Harris was firmly back in vogue and rewarded his fans with more wonderful performances in Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993); Cry, the Beloved Country (1995); The Great Kandinsky (1995) (TV) and This Is the Sea (1997). Further fortune came his way with a strong performance in the blockbuster Gladiator (2000) and he became known to an entirely new generation of film fans as Albus Dumbledore in the mega-successful Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). His final screen role was as "Lucius Sulla" in Julius Caesar (2002) (TV).
A diverse, vigorous and captivating actor, Richard Harris passed away from Hodgkin's Disease on October 25, 2002.
TRIVIA:
- Harris, 'Peter O'Toole (I)' (qv), and 'Richard Burton (I)' (qv) were drinking buddies in the early 1970s till Burton's Death.
- Following his death, many of his family members wanted friend 'Peter O'Toole (I)' (qv) to take the role of Albus Dumbledore in _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)_ (qv).
- One of 9 children born to Limerick farmer Ivan Harris and his wife, the former Mildred Harty.
- Was friends with Sir 'Sean Connery' (qv).
- After giving up drinking alcohol for a time in the 1970s, Harris put a bottle of vodka in every room in his house in London. The temptation was huge but he didn't touch a drop.
- Father of director 'Damian Harris (I)' (qv), actors 'Jared Harris (I)' (qv), and 'Jamie Harris (I)' (qv).
- Was cremated and his ashes were scattered at his home in the Bahamas
- Once said in an interview that he had a great fascination with authority figures and their use of power. During his career he portrayed King Arthur in _Camelot (1967)_ (qv); Oliver Cromwell in _Cromwell (1970)_ (qv); King Richard the Lionheart in _Robin and Marian (1976)_ (qv); Roman Emperor 'Marcus Aurelius' (qv) in _Gladiator (2000)_ (qv) and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)_ (qv) and _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)_ (qv).
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