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Richard St. John Harris (October 1 1930 - October 25 2002) was a two-time Academy Award-nominated and Grammy Award-winning Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer. He appeared on stage and in many films, and is perhaps best known for his roles as King Arthur in Camelot (1967), as Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell (1970) and for his portrayal of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' (2002), his last film. He also played a British aristocrat and prisoner in ''[[A Man Called Horse (1970 film)|A Man Called Horse]]'' (1970), and a [[gunfighter]] in the [[Clint Eastwood]] directed western ''[[Unforgiven]]'' (1992).

Biography

Early life and career

Harris, the fifth of eight children, was born in Limerick City, Ireland, the son of Ivan John (b. 1896, son of Richard Harris b.1854, son of James Harris, St. Michael's, Limerick) and Mildred Josephine (née Harty) (b. 1898, Daughter of James Harty, St. John's, Limerick) Harris, who owned a flour mill. He was schooled by the Jesuits at Crescent College. A talented rugby player, he was on several Munster Junior and Senior Cup teams for Crescent, and played for the well-respected Garryowen Football Club. He might have become a provincial or international-standard rugby player, but his athletic career was cut short when he contracted tuberculosis in his teens. He remained an ardent fan of Munster provincial rugby team until his death, attending many matches, and there are numerous stories of japes at rugby matches with fellow actors and rugby fans Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton.