Richard Harris

Richard John Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, appearing as Frank Machin in This Sporting Life, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and 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 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".