115-1180: Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave . He received numerous accolades including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor , and a Grammy Award . In 2020, he was listed at number 3 on The Irish Times ' s list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Harris received two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his performances in This Sporting Life (1963), and The Field (1990). Other notable roles include in The Guns of Navarone (1961), Red Desert (1964), A Man Called Horse (1970), Cromwell (1970), Unforgiven (1992), Gladiator (2000), and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). He gained cross-generational acclaim for his role as Albus Dumbledore in
230-532: A Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell (1989). His other appearances that decade include Uncle Silas (1989) for television. O'Toole's performances in the 1990s include Wings of Fame (1990); The Rainbow Thief (1990), with Sharif; King Ralph (1991) with John Goodman ; Isabelle Eberhardt (1992); Rebecca's Daughters (1992), in Wales; Civvies (1992),
345-579: A Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Bishop Pierre Cauchon in the 1999 mini-series Joan of Arc . He also produced and starred in a TV adaptation of Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell (1999). O'Toole's work in the next decade included Global Heresy (2002); The Final Curtain (2003); Bright Young Things (2003); Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) for TV, as Paul von Hindenburg ; and Imperium: Augustus (2004) as Augustus Caesar . In 2004, he played King Priam in Troy . In 2005, he appeared on television as
460-700: A hematologic disease . He eventually recovered and returned to work. He resided on the Sky Road, just outside Clifden , Connemara , County Galway, from 1963, and at the height of his career maintained homes in Dublin, London, and Paris (at the Ritz , which was where his character supposedly lived in the film How to Steal a Million ). In an interview with NPR in December 2006, O'Toole revealed that he knew all 154 of Shakespeare 's sonnets . A self-described romantic, O'Toole said of
575-493: A British TV series; The Seventh Coin (1993); Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III (1994), for American TV; and Heavy Weather (1995), for British TV. He was in an adaptation of Gulliver's Travels (1996), playing the Emperor of Lilliput; FairyTale: A True Story (1997), playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ; Phantoms (1998), from a novel by Dean Koontz ; and Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999). He won
690-638: A British war film, The Heroes of Telemark (1965), directed by Anthony Mann , playing a Norwegian resistance leader. He then went to Hollywood to support Charlton Heston in Sam Peckinpah 's Major Dundee (1965), as an Irish immigrant who became a Confederate cavalryman during the American Civil War . He played Cain in John Huston 's film The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966). More successful at
805-454: A Canadian-Chinese miniseries. O'Toole's final performances came in Eldorado (2012) and For Greater Glory : The True Story of Cristiada (2012). On 10 July 2012, O'Toole released a statement announcing his retirement from acting. A number of films were released after his retirement and death: Decline of an Empire (2013), as Gallus ; and Diamond Cartel (2017). While studying at RADA in
920-729: A beneficial effect. Harris's career was revived by his success on stage in Camelot , and powerful performance in the West End run of Pirandello's Henry IV . He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1990, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel during the curtain call of the Pirandello's play Henry IV at the Wyndham's Theatre in London. Over several years in the late 1980s, Harris worked with Irish author Michael Feeney Callan on his biography, which
1035-569: A company with the actor. Buck cast O'Toole in The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1961), a heist thriller from director John Guillermin . O'Toole was billed third, beneath Aldo Ray and Elizabeth Sellars . The same year he appeared in several episodes of the TV series Rendezvous ("End of a Good Man", "Once a Horseplayer", "London-New York"). He lost the role in the film adaptation of Long and
1150-660: A film for several years. He performed at the Bristol Old Vic from 1973 to 1974 in Uncle Vanya , Plunder , The Apple Cart and Judgement . He returned to films with Rosebud (1975), a flop thriller for Otto Preminger , in which O'Toole replaced Robert Mitchum at the last minute. He followed it with Man Friday (1975), an adaptation of the Robinson Crusoe story, which was the last work from Keep Films. O'Toole made Foxtrot (1976), directed by Arturo Ripstein . He
1265-558: A film starring Terry-Thomas, Operation Snatch . In 1962 O'Toole and Buck announced they wanted to make a version of Waiting for Godot for £80,000. The film was never made. Instead their first production was Becket (1964), where O'Toole played King Henry II opposite Richard Burton. The film, done in association with Hal Wallis , was a financial success. O'Toole turned down the lead role in The Cardinal (1963). Instead he and Buck made another epic, Lord Jim (1965), based on
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#17328979360341380-523: A graduate of the Limerick School of Art and Design . At the 2009 BAFTAs, Mickey Rourke dedicated his Best Actor award to Harris, calling him a "good friend and great actor". In 2013, Rob Gill and Zeb Moore founded the annual Richard Harris International Film Festival . The Richard Harris Film Festival is one of Ireland's fastest-growing film festivals, growing from just ten films in 2013 to over 115 films in 2017. Each year, one of Harris's sons attends
1495-815: A man in love with his sister (played by Susannah York ) in Country Dance (1970). O'Toole starred in a war film for director Peter Yates , Murphy's War (1971), appearing alongside Sian Phillips. He was reunited with Richard Burton in a film version of Under Milk Wood (1972) by Dylan Thomas , produced by himself and Buck; Elizabeth Taylor co-starred. The film was not a popular success. He received another Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance in The Ruling Class (1972), done for his own company. In 1972, he played both Miguel de Cervantes and his fictional creation Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha ,
1610-563: A memorable bit part in the film The Guns of Navarone (1961) as a Royal Australian Air Force pilot who reports that blowing up the "bloody guns" of the island of Navarone is impossible by an air raid . He had a larger part in The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961), playing a British soldier; Harris clashed with Laurence Harvey and Richard Todd during filming. For his role in the film Mutiny on
1725-476: A musical adaptation of James Hilton's novella , starring opposite Petula Clark . He was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy . O'Toole fulfilled a lifetime ambition in 1970 when he performed on stage in Samuel Beckett 's Waiting for Godot , alongside Donal McCann , at Dublin's Abbey Theatre . In other films, he played
1840-690: A nine-month season at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, appearing in The Taming of the Shrew (as Petruchio), The Merchant of Venice (as Shylock) and Troilus and Cressida (as Thersites). He could have made more money in films but said "You've got to go to Stratford when you've got the chance." O'Toole had been seen in The Long and the Short and the Tall by Jules Buck who later established
1955-522: A perfect score of 100. It is also ranked 6th in the world by The Hollywood Reporter 's annual list of the 25 top drama schools and is currently rated as the top UK drama school for student satisfaction according to the 2024 National Student Survey . The academy's graduates work regularly at the Royal National Theatre , the Royal Shakespeare Company , Shakespeare's Globe , and the theatres of London's West End and Hollywood , as well as on
2070-469: A performance that famously earned O'Toole some of the worst reviews of his career. O'Toole was nominated for another Oscar for My Favorite Year (1982), a light romantic comedy about the behind-the-scenes at a 1950s TV variety-comedy show, in which O'Toole plays an ageing swashbuckling film star reminiscent of Errol Flynn . He returned to the stage in London with a performance in Man and Superman (1982) that
2185-531: A scholarship for Irish students established in honour of his brother and manager, Dermot, who had died the previous year of a heart attack. He chaired acting workshops and cast the university's production of Julius Caesar in November 1987. Harris appeared in two films which won the Academy Award for Best Picture : firstly as the gunfighter "English Bob" in the revisionist Western Unforgiven (1992); secondly as
2300-487: A strong affinity with Ireland and on occasion referred to himself as Irish: “I consider myself to be an Irishman but I have lived most of my life in England so I am fairly bogus Irish actor as such”. In an interview with Charlie Rose in 1992 he said Irishness was “almost the centre of my very being” and that “Everything I think of is coloured by its history, by its literature, by its people, by its geography”. He recalls that he
2415-632: A supporting role in the film Patriot Games . He had good roles in Unforgiven (1992), Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) and Silent Tongue (1994). He played the title role in Abraham (1994) and had the lead in Cry, the Beloved Country (1995). A lifelong supporter of Jesuit education principles, Harris established a friendship with University of Scranton President Rev. J. A. Panuska and raised funds for
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#17328979360342530-516: A younger lover. O'Toole and his girlfriend, model Karen Brown, had a son, Lorcan O'Toole (born 17 March 1983), when O'Toole was fifty years old. Lorcan, now an actor, was a pupil at Harrow School , boarding at West Acre from 1996. O'Toole played rugby league as a child in Leeds and was also a rugby union fan, attending Five Nations matches with friends and fellow rugby fans Richard Harris , Kenneth Griffith , Peter Finch and Richard Burton . He
2645-435: Is about his years spent training with a cadre of friends at RADA . O'Toole was interviewed at least three times by Charlie Rose on his eponymous talk show . In a 17 January 2007 interview, O'Toole stated that British actor Eric Porter had most influenced him, adding that the difference between actors of yesterday and today is that actors of his generation were trained for "theatre, theatre, theatre". He also believes that
2760-536: Is an electrifyingly outgoing actor, and it is a surprise to see him make his first appearance...with his features twisted into melancholy" He performed in Baal (1963) at the Phoenix Theatre. Even prior to the making of Lawrence of Arabia , O'Toole announced he wanted to form a production company with Jules Buck. In November 1961 they said their company, known as Keep Films (also known as Tricolor Productions) would make
2875-693: Is in partnership with the Fulbright Program . Each year one U.S. applicant is awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the US/ UK Fulbright Commission to study for a Master of Arts in classical acting at the school. LAMDA Examinations in the fields of speech, drama, communication, and performance are taken by external students and are recognised by Ofqual , the regulator in England, and its counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland . LAMDA-accredited examinations at Level 3 or above are recognised within
2990-840: The Academy Award for Best Actor . He received the BAFTA Award for Best British Actor . His performance was ranked number one in Premiere magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. In 2003, Lawrence as portrayed by O'Toole was selected as the tenth-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute . Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote in 1989 "The then unknown Peter O'Toole, with his charmingly diffident manner and his hair and eyes looking unnaturally gold and blue, accounted for no small part of this film's appeal to impressionable young fans". O'Toole played Hamlet under Laurence Olivier 's direction in
3105-705: The Academy Honorary Award , a BAFTA Award , a Primetime Emmy Award , and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivier Award . O'Toole started his training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company . In 1959, he made his West End debut in The Long and
3220-703: The BBC , HBO , and Broadway . It is registered as a company under the name LAMDA Ltd and as a charity under its trading name London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. There is an associate organisation in America under the name of American Friends of LAMDA (AFLAMDA). A very high proportion of LAMDA's stage management and technical theatre graduates find work in their chosen field within weeks of graduation. LAMDA alumni have received 5 Academy Awards (out of 13 Oscar nominations ), 10 SAG Awards , 13 Tonys , 15 Emmys , 19 Golden Globes , 21 BAFTAs , and 39 Olivier Awards . LAMDA
3335-607: The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama , having joined in 2004, and received funding through the Conservatoire from the Office for Students . It left the Conservatoire on 31 July 2019 to become an independent institution, and now receives funding directly from the Office for Students and Research England . LAMDA is a member of Conservatoires UK - an elite group of drama and music schools in
3450-616: The Dublin pubs now, and a couple of them flashed their pretty ankles at me just the other day." Upon leaving school, O'Toole obtained employment as a trainee journalist and photographer on the Yorkshire Evening Post , until he was called up for national service as a signaller in the Royal Navy . As reported in a radio interview in 2006 on NPR , he was asked by an officer whether he had something he had always wanted to do. His reply
3565-498: The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art to learn acting. He had failed an audition at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and had been rejected by the Central School of Speech and Drama , because they felt he was too old at 24. While still a student, he rented the tiny "off- West End " Irving Theatre, and there directed his production of Clifford Odets 's play Winter Journey (The Country Girl) . After completing his studies at
Richard Harris - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-649: The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Ridley Scott 's Gladiator (2000). He also played a lead role alongside James Earl Jones in the Darrell Roodt film adaptation of Cry, the Beloved Country (1995). In 1999, Harris starred in the film To Walk with Lions . After Gladiator , Harris played the supporting role of Albus Dumbledore in the first two of the Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and
3795-527: The Stadium of Light . He described Roker Park as his last connection to the club and that everything "they meant to him was when they were at Roker Park". Severe illness almost ended O'Toole's life in the late 1970s. His stomach cancer was misdiagnosed as resulting from his alcoholic excess. O'Toole underwent surgery in 1976 to have his pancreas and a large portion of his stomach removed, which resulted in insulin -dependent diabetes . In 1978, he nearly died from
3910-515: The UCAS Tariff system. LAMDA's Principal is Professor Mark O'Thomas, who succeeded Director Sarah Frankcom in 2022. Benedict Cumberbatch succeeded Timothy West as President of LAMDA's board of trustees in 2018. The London Academy of Music was established by Henry Wylde in 1861 in St. James's Hall ; there were separate sections for men and women. Teaching began on 15 November 1861, at which time
4025-632: The West End in the play The Long and the Short and the Tall , performed at the Royal Court beginning in January 1959. His co-stars included Robert Shaw and Edward Judd , and it was directed by Lindsay Anderson . O'Toole reprised his performance for television on Theatre Night in 1959 (although he did not appear in the 1961 film version ). The show transferred to the West End in April and won O'Toole Best Actor of
4140-503: The "Centenary of Irish Cinema", a four-stamp set featuring twelve Irish actors in four Irish films. He was again honoured in ‘Irish Abroad’ stamps in 2020. Ridley Scott, who directed Harris in Gladiator , would later cast Paul Mescal of Normal People as Lucius Verus in Gladiator II in part because Mescal clocked a resemblance with Harris, who portrayed his character's grandfather in
4255-752: The 2006 film Venus , directed by Roger Michell , his eighth such nomination. He was in One Night with the King (2007) and co-starred in the Pixar animated film Ratatouille (2007), an animated film about a rat with dreams of becoming the greatest chef in Paris, as Anton Ego, a food critic. He had a small role in Stardust (2007). He also appeared in the second season of Showtime 's drama series The Tudors (2008), portraying Pope Paul III , who excommunicates King Henry VIII from
4370-510: The 9th-most popular star at the UK box office. In 1971 Harris starred in a BBC TV film adaptation The Snow Goose , from a screenplay by Paul Gallico . It won a Golden Globe for Best Movie made for TV and was nominated for both a BAFTA and an Emmy . and was shown in the U.S. as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame . He made his directorial debut with Bloomfield (1971) and starred in Man in
4485-582: The American Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also topped several music sales charts in Europe during the summer of 1968. "MacArthur Park" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc . In 2024, " MacArthur Park " was featured in the wedding sequence of the Tim Burton film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice . A second album, also consisting entirely of music composed by Webb, The Yard Went on Forever ,
4600-554: The Ape Man (1981). He made a film in Canada, Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid (1981), a drama about impotence. He followed it with another Canadian film, Highpoint , a movie so bad it was not released for several years. For a while in the 1980s, Harris went into semi-retirement on Paradise Island , in the Bahamas , where he kicked his drinking habit and embraced a healthier lifestyle. It had
4715-466: The Bounty (1962), despite being virtually unknown to film audiences, Harris reportedly insisted on third billing, behind Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando , an actor he greatly admired. However, Harris fell out with Brando over the latter's behaviour during the film's production. Harris's first starring role was in the film This Sporting Life (1963), as a bitter young coal miner, Frank Machin, who becomes an acclaimed rugby league football player. It
Richard Harris - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-501: The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin he appeared in productions of Juno and the Paycock and Man and Superman . Sam Spiegel , producer of Lawrence of Arabia , reunited O'Toole with Omar Sharif in The Night of the Generals (1967), which was a box office disappointment. O'Toole played in an adaptation of Noël Coward 's Present Laughter for TV in 1968, and had a cameo in Casino Royale (1967). He played Henry II again in The Lion in Winter (1968) alongside Katharine Hepburn , and
4945-424: The Hampstead Academy was also amalgamated. The name was changed to the current name in 1935, under the direction of Wilfrid Foulis. In 1939, it was moved from London due to the war; when it reopened in 1945, it no longer provided musical training. However, singing has remained integral to LAMDA's actor training and in 2023 it introduced a new MFA Musical Theatre programme. LAMDA was previously an associate member of
5060-418: The Leeds General Register Office says he was born at St James's University Hospital in Leeds , Yorkshire, England, on 2 August 1932. O'Toole had an elder sister named Patricia and grew up in the south Leeds suburb of Hunslet . When he was one year old, his family began a five-year tour of major racecourse towns in Northern England. He and his sister were brought up in their father's Catholic faith. O'Toole
5175-406: The Philosopher's Stone (2001) owing to the multi-film commitment and his declining health, but he ultimately accepted because, according to his account of the story, his 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he did not take it. In an interview with the Toronto Star in 2001, Harris expressed his concern that his association with the Harry Potter films would outshine
5290-441: The Philosopher’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), the latter of which was his final film role. Harris portrayed Abbé Faria in Kevin Reynolds ' film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). The film Kaena: The Prophecy (2003) was dedicated to him posthumously as he had voiced the character Opaz before his death. Harris hesitated to take the role of Dumbledore in Harry Potter and
5405-406: The Sainsbury Theatre, the Carne Studio Theatre and the Linbury Studio. 51°29′26″N 0°12′52″W / 51.49056°N 0.21444°W / 51.49056; -0.21444 Peter O%27Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole ( / oʊ ˈ t uː l / ; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was an English actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he received several accolades including
5520-500: The School, including a professional contract at Bristol Old Vic Theatre. He has a memorial plaque in St Paul's , the Actors' Church in Covent Garden , London. On 21 April 2017, the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin announced that Kate O'Toole had placed her father's archive at the Humanities Research Centre. The collection includes O'Toole's scripts, extensive published and unpublished writings, props, photographs, letters, medical records, and more. It joins
5635-511: The Short and the Tall , and played the title role in Hamlet in the National Theatre 's first production in 1963. Excelling on stage, O'Toole was known for his "hellraiser" lifestyle off it. He received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his portrayal of Jeffrey Bernard in the play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell (1990). Making his film debut in 1959, O'Toole received his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for portraying T. E. Lawrence in
5750-405: The Short and the Tall to Laurence Harvey . "It broke my heart", he said later. O'Toole's major break came in November 1960 when he was chosen to play the eponymous hero T. E. Lawrence in Sir David Lean 's epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962), after Albert Finney reportedly turned down the part. The role introduced him to a global audience and earned him the first of his eight nominations for
5865-440: The United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States with his 1968 recording of Jimmy Webb 's song " MacArthur Park ". He received a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance nomination for the song. Harris was born on 1 October 1930, at Overdale, 8 Landsdown Villas, Ennis Road, Limerick , and was the fifth in a family of eight children, (six boys and two girls), to flour merchant Ivan Harris and Mildred (née Harty). Overdale
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#17328979360345980-518: The United Kingdom. In August 2021 it was announced that Sarah Frankcom would step down as Director, and that LAMDA was conducting a search for a successor. In August 2022, LAMDA announced that Professor Mark O'Thomas had been unanimously appointed by the board of trustees as principal and chief executive, with Dr. Philippa Standberg-Long appointed as head of actor training. In 2003, LAMDA decided to move its teaching school and theatre to its current location in Hammersmith in West London. It acquired
6095-411: The United Kingdom. In 1904, the school was amalgamated with two other London music institutions that had sprung up since the academy was founded, namely the London Music School (founded 1865) and the Forest Gate School of Music (founded 1885) renamed in 1906 the Metropolitan Academy of Music. (The Metropolitan Academy of Music severed its links with the London Academy of Music in 1907. ) In due course
6210-434: The West End but it ultimately folded in the provinces; during that show he met Siân Phillips who became his first wife. O'Toole continued to appear on television, being in episodes of Armchair Theatre ("The Pier", 1957), and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre ("The Laughing Woman", 1958) and was in the TV adaptation of The Castiglioni Brothers (1958). He made his London debut in a musical, Oh, My Papa . He gained fame on
6325-424: The West End in 1959. In his second film, he had a small role as an IRA Volunteer in Shake Hands with the Devil (1959), supporting James Cagney . The film was shot in Ireland and directed by Michael Anderson who offered Harris a role in his next movie, The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959), shot in Hollywood. Harris played another IRA Volunteer in A Terrible Beauty (1960), alongside Robert Mitchum . He had
6440-403: The Wilderness (1971), a revisionist Western based on the Hugh Glass story. Harris starred in a Western for Samuel Fuller , Riata , which stopped production several weeks into filming. The project was re-assembled with a new director and cast, except for Harris, who returned: The Deadly Trackers (1973). In 1973, Harris published a book of poetry, I, In the Membership of My Days , which
6555-456: The Year in 1959. O'Toole was in much demand. He reportedly received five offers of long-term contracts but turned them down. His first role was a small role in Disney's version of Kidnapped (1960), playing the bagpipes opposite Peter Finch . His second feature was The Savage Innocents (1960) with Anthony Quinn for director Nicholas Ray . With his then wife Sian Phillips he did Siwan: The King's Daughter (1960) for TV. In 1960 he had
6670-568: The academy ever had, though we weren't reckoned for much at the time. We were all considered dotty ." O'Toole began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company , before making his television debut in 1954. He played a soldier in an episode of The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1954. He was based at the Bristol Old Vic from 1956 to 1958, appearing in productions of King Lear , The Recruiting Officer , Major Barbara , Othello , and The Slave of Truth (all 1956). He
6785-414: The academy, he joined Joan Littlewood 's Theatre Workshop . He began getting roles in West End theatre productions, starting with The Quare Fellow in 1956, a transfer from the Theatre Workshop. He spent nearly a decade in obscurity, learning his profession on stages throughout the UK. Harris made his film debut in 1959 in the film Alive and Kicking , and played the lead role in The Ginger Man in
6900-416: The age of 81. His funeral was held at Golders Green Crematorium in London on 21 December 2013, where his body was cremated in a wicker coffin. His family stated their intention to fulfil his wishes and take his ashes to the west of Ireland. On 18 May 2014, a new prize was launched in memory of Peter O'Toole at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School; this includes an annual award given to two young actors from
7015-525: The archives of several of O'Toole's collaborators and friends, including Donald Wolfit , Eli Wallach , Peter Glenville , Sir Tom Stoppard , and Dame Edith Evans . O'Toole was the recipient of numerous nominations and awards. He was offered a knighthood but rejected it in objection to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 's policies. He received four Golden Globe Awards , one BAFTA Award for Best British Actor (for Lawrence of Arabia ) and one Primetime Emmy Award . Academy Award nominations O'Toole
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#17328979360347130-456: The best King Arthur and Queen Guenevere I can imagine". Harris revived the role on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre from 15 November 1981 to 2 January 1982, and broadcast on HBO a year later. Starring Meg Bussert as Guenevere, Richard Muenz as Lancelot and Thor Fields as Tom of Warwick. Harris, who had starred in the film, and Muenz also took the show on tour nationwide. In The Molly Maguires (1970), he played James McParland ,
7245-437: The box office was Hawaii (1966), in which Harris starred alongside Julie Andrews and Max von Sydow . As a change of pace, he was the romantic lead in a Doris Day spy spoof comedy, Caprice (1967), directed by Frank Tashlin . Harris next performed the role of King Arthur in the film adaptation of the musical play Camelot (1967). Critic Roger Ebert described the casting of Harris and Vanessa Redgrave as "about
7360-434: The challenge for the actor is "to use his imagination to link to his emotion" and that "good parts make good actors." However, in other venues (including the DVD commentary for Becket ), O'Toole credited Donald Wolfit as being his most important mentor. O'Toole retired from acting in July 2012 owing to a recurrence of stomach cancer. He died on 14 December 2013 at the Wellington Hospital in St John's Wood , London, at
7475-451: The channel TNT in the 1990s. He portrayed the main and title character in the production Abraham (1993) as well as Saint John of Patmos in the 2000 TV film production Apocalypse . Harris recorded several albums of music, one of which, A Tramp Shining , included the seven-minute hit song " MacArthur Park " (Harris insisted on singing the lyric as "MacArthur's Park"). This song was written by Jimmy Webb , and it reached number 2 on
7590-406: The church; an act which leads to a showdown between the two men in seven of the ten episodes. Also in 2008, he starred alongside Jeremy Northam and Sam Neill in the New Zealand/British film Dean Spanley , based on an Alan Sharp adaptation of Irish author Lord Dunsany's short novel, My Talks with Dean Spanley . He was in Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage (2008); and Iron Road (2009),
7705-426: The cost per annum was 15 guineas , or £15 15s 0d. Students of all ages "with a decided talent, or showing an aptitude for learning" were admitted. Full scholarships were available. The first philharmonic concert was held on 29 April 1863, following a public rehearsal on 25 April. It was a performance of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 . Providing training for, and examinations in, various musical disciplines
7820-414: The detective who infiltrates the title organisation, headed by Sean Connery . It was a box office flop. However A Man Called Horse (1970), with Harris in the title role, an 1825 English aristocrat who is captured by Native Americans, was a major success. He played the title role in the film Cromwell in 1970 opposite Alec Guinness as King Charles I of England . That year British exhibitors voted him
7935-406: The director in the behind-the-scenes film The Stunt Man . His performance earned him an Oscar nomination. He appeared in a mini-series for Irish TV, Strumpet City , in which he played James Larkin . He followed this with another mini-series, Masada (1981), playing Lucius Flavius Silva . In 1980, he performed in Macbeth at the Old Vic for $ 500 a week (equivalent to $ 1,800 in 2023),
8050-411: The early 1950s, O'Toole opposed the Korean War , and later became a supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament . During the 1960s, he was involved in the opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War . He played a role in the creation of the current form of the well-known Irish folk song " Carrickfergus " which he related to Dominic Behan , who put it in print and made a recording in
8165-437: The festival in Limerick. In 2015, the Limerick Writers' Centre unveiled a commemorative plaque outside Charlie St George's pub on Parnell Street. The pub was a favourite drinking place of Harris on his visits to Limerick. The plaque, celebrating Harris's literary output as part of a Literary Walking Tour of Limerick, was unveiled by his son Jared Harris. In 1996, Harris was honoured with a commemorative Irish postage stamp for
8280-639: 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 portrayed King Arthur in the 1967 film Camelot based on the Lerner and Loewe musical of the same name . For his performance, he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy . He reprised
8395-697: The historical epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962). He was further Oscar-nominated for playing King Henry II in both Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), a public school teacher in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), a paranoid schizophrenic in The Ruling Class (1972), a war veteran turned stunt man in The Stunt Man (1980), a film actor in My Favorite Year (1982), and an elderly man in Venus (2006). He holds
8510-470: The hospital, but it has not been published since. On 30 September 2006, Manuel Di Lucia, of Kilkee , County Clare, a longtime friend, organised the placement in Kilkee of a bronze life-size statue of Richard Harris. It shows Harris at the age of eighteen playing the sport of Racquetball . (He had won the local competition three or four consecutive times during the late 1940s.) The sculptor was Seamus Connolly and
8625-540: The interior. Harris was a vocal supporter of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) from 1973 until 1984. In January 1984, remarks he made on the previous month's Harrods bombing caused great controversy, after which he discontinued his support for the PIRA. At the height of his stardom in the 1960s and early 1970s, Harris was almost as well known for his hellraiser lifestyle and heavy drinking as he
8740-561: The lovely bugger outright". The Academy informed him that they would bestow the award whether he wanted it or not. He told Charlie Rose in January 2007 that his children admonished him, saying that it was the highest honour one could receive in the filmmaking industry. O'Toole agreed to appear at the ceremony and receive his Honorary Oscar. It was presented to him by Meryl Streep , who has the most Oscar nominations of any actor or actress (21). He joked with Robert Osborne , during an interview at Turner Classic Movies ' film festival that he's
8855-494: The mid-1960s. Although he lost faith in organised religion as a teenager, O'Toole expressed positive sentiments regarding the life of Jesus Christ. In an interview for The New York Times , he said "No one can take Jesus away from me... there's no doubt there was a historical figure of tremendous importance, with enormous notions. Such as peace." He called himself "a retired Christian" who prefers "an education and reading and facts" to faith. The son of an Irishman, O’Toole had
8970-487: The miniseries Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003). Peter Seamus O'Toole was born on 2 August 1932, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (née Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph "Spats" O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player, and bookmaker . O'Toole claimed he was not certain of his birthplace or date, stating in his autobiography that he accepted 2 August as his birth date but had birth certificates from England and Ireland. The birth certificate recorded at
9085-463: The motion picture adaptation of the 1965 hit Broadway musical , opposite Sophia Loren . The film was a critical and commercial failure, criticised for using mostly non-singing actors. His singing was dubbed by tenor Simon Gilbert , but the other actors did their own singing. O'Toole and co-star James Coco , who played both Cervantes's manservant and Sancho Panza , both received Golden Globe nominations for their performances. O'Toole did not make
9200-516: The novel by Joseph Conrad directed by Richard Brooks. He and Buck intended to follow this with a biopic of Will Adams and a film about the Charge of the Light Brigade , but neither project happened. Instead O'Toole went into What's New Pussycat? (1965), a comedy based on a script by Woody Allen , taking over a role originally meant for Warren Beatty and starring alongside Peter Sellers . It
9315-744: The old premises of the Royal Ballet School on Talgarth Road . The move to the Talgarth Road enabled LAMDA to develop a campus with new training facilities designed by Niall McLaughlin Architects . The site was previously home to the Royal Ballet School, which moved to new, purpose-built facilities adjacent to the Royal Opera House . The LAMDA complex has three theatres and various rehearsal spaces and meeting rooms. The three theatres are
9430-540: The older version of legendary 18th century Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova in the BBC drama serial Casanova . The younger Casanova, seen for most of the action, was played by David Tennant , who had to wear contact lenses to match his brown eyes to O'Toole's blue. He followed it with a role in Lassie (2005). O'Toole was once again nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Maurice in
9545-651: The original film. London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art ( LAMDA ) is a drama school located in Hammersmith , London . It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools . The institution is ranked 1st in the UK in the " Drama and Dance " category by The Guardian University Guide rankings for 2025 with
9660-453: The premiere production of the Royal National Theatre in 1963. The casting of O'Toole as the Dane was met with some controversy with Michael Gambon describing him as a "god with bright blonde hair". On playing the role O'Toole stated he was "sick with nerves", adding "If you want to know what it's like to be lonely, really lonely, try playing Hamlet." The Times wrote, "Mr O'Toole, like Olivier,
9775-622: The record for the most Oscar nominations for acting without a win (tied with Glenn Close ). In 2002, he was awarded the Academy Honorary Award for his career achievements. O'Toole has also starred in films such as What's New Pussycat? (1965), How to Steal a Million (1966), Man of La Mancha (1972), Caligula (1979), Zulu Dawn (1979), and Supergirl (1984), with supporting roles in The Last Emperor (1987), Bright Young Things (2003), Troy (2004), Stardust (2007), and Dean Spanley (2008). He also voiced Anton Ego,
9890-514: The rest of his career. He explained, "Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for being in those bloody films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me." Harris also made part of the Bible TV movie project filmed as a cinema production for the TV, a project produced by Lux Vide Italy with the collaboration of RAI and Channel 5 of France, and premiered in the United States in
10005-573: The restaurant critic in Pixar 's animated film Ratatouille (2007). On television, he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his portrayal of Bishop Pierre Cauchon in the CBS miniseries Joan of Arc (1999). He was Emmy-nominated for his performances as Lucius Flavius Silva in the ABC miniseries Masada (1981), and Paul von Hindenburg in
10120-518: The role in the 1981 Broadway musical revival . He received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor nomination for his role in Pirandello 's Henry IV (1991). Harris received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination for his role in The Snow Goose (1971). Harris had a number-one singing hit in Australia, Jamaica and Canada, and a top-ten hit in
10235-421: The six remaining films in the series. Harris was ultimately succeeded as Dumbledore by Michael Gambon . Chris Columbus , director of the first two Harry Potter films, had visited Harris during his last days and had promised not to recast Dumbledore, confident of his eventual recovery. In a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Columbus revealed that Harris was writing an autobiography during his stay at
10350-595: The sonnets that nothing in the English language compares with them, and that he read them daily. In Venus (2006), he recites Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"). O'Toole wrote two memoirs. Loitering with Intent: The Child chronicles his childhood in the years leading up to the Second World War, and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1992. His second, Loitering With Intent: The Apprentice ,
10465-585: The work was unveiled by Russell Crowe . Harris was an accomplished squash racquets player, winning the Tivoli Cup in Kilkee four consecutive years (1948 to 1951), a record unsurpassed to this day. Another life-size statue of Richard Harris, as King Arthur from his film Camelot , has been erected in Bedford Row, in the centre of his home town of Limerick. The sculptor of this statue was the Irish sculptor Jim Connolly,
10580-453: Was evacuated from Leeds early in the Second World War, and went to a Catholic school for seven or eight years: St Joseph's Secondary School in Hunslet, Leeds. He later said, "I used to be scared stiff of the nuns: their whole denial of womanhood—the black dresses and the shaving of the hair—was so horrible, so terrifying. [...] Of course, that's all been stopped. They're sipping gin and tonic in
10695-600: Was "a tall, elegant, early 19th-century redbrick" house with nine bedrooms, in a wealthy part of Limerick, the houses "built at the turn of the 20th century for Limerick's burgeoning middle class... people who could afford properly grand drawing rooms, a bedroom each for the children and one for the pot, plus space for a few servants". He was educated by the Jesuits at Crescent College . A talented rugby player, he appeared on several Munster Junior and Senior Cup teams for Crescent, and played for Garryowen . Harris's athletic career
10810-629: Was "utterly reconciled to". In June 1989, director Jim Sheridan cast Harris in the lead role in The Field , written by the esteemed Irish playwright John B. Keane . The lead role of "Bull" McCabe was to be played by former Abbey Theatre actor Ray McAnally . When McAnally died suddenly on 15 June 1989, Harris was offered the McCabe role. The Field was released in 1990 and earned Harris his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor . He lost to Jeremy Irons for Reversal of Fortune . In 1992, Harris had
10925-715: Was Henry Higgins in Pygmalion , Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream , Uncle Gustave in Oh! My Papa! , and Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger (all 1957). O'Toole was Tanner in Shaw's Man and Superman (1958), a performance he reprised often during his career. He was also in Hamlet , The Holiday , Amphitryon '38 , and Waiting for Godot (as Vladimir; all 1958). He hoped The Holiday would take him to
11040-543: Was a huge success. He and Buck helped produce The Party's Over (1965). O'Toole returned to the stage with Ride a Cock Horse at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1965, which was harshly reviewed. He made a heist film with Audrey Hepburn , How to Steal a Million (1966), directed by William Wyler . He played the Three Angels in the all-star The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), directed by John Huston . In 1966 at
11155-465: Was also a lifelong player, coach and enthusiast of cricket and a fan of Sunderland A.F.C. His support of Sunderland was passed on to him through his father, who was a labourer in Sunderland for many years. He was named their most famous fan. The actor in a later interview expressed that he no longer considered himself as much of a fan following the demolition of Roker Park and the subsequent move to
11270-658: Was based on the novel by David Storey and directed by Lindsay Anderson . For his role, Harris won Best Actor in 1963 at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination . Harris followed this with a leading role in the Italian film, Michelangelo Antonioni 's Il Deserto Rosso ( Red Desert , 1964). This won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Harris received an offer to support Kirk Douglas in
11385-769: Was better received than his Macbeth . He focused on television, doing an adaptation of Man and Superman (1983), Svengali (1983), Pygmalion (1984), and Kim (1984), and providing the voice of Sherlock Holmes for a series of animated TV movies. He played in Pygmalion on stage in 1984 at the West End's Shaftesbury Theatre . O'Toole returned to feature films in Supergirl (1984), Creator (1985), Club Paradise (1986), The Last Emperor (1987) as Sir Reginald Johnston , and High Spirits (1988). He appeared on Broadway in an adaptation of Pygmalion (1987), opposite Amanda Plummer . It ran for 113 performances. He won
11500-448: Was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1983. He told his friends that he wanted him to be "raised as an Irishman". O'Toole married Welsh actress Siân Phillips in 1959, with whom he had two daughters: actress Kate and Patricia. They were divorced in 1979. Phillips later said in two autobiographies that O'Toole had subjected her to mental cruelty, largely fuelled by drinking, and was subject to bouts of extreme jealousy when she finally left him for
11615-701: Was critically acclaimed for his performance in Rogue Male (1976) for British television. He did Dead Eyed Dicks on stage in Sydney in 1976. Less well received was Power Play (1978), made in Canada, and Zulu Dawn (1979), shot in South Africa. He toured Uncle Vanya and Present Laughter on stage. In 1979, O'Toole starred as Tiberius in the controversial Penthouse -funded biopic Caligula acting alongside Malcolm McDowell , Helen Mirren and John Gielgud . In 1980, he received critical acclaim for playing
11730-526: Was cut short when he caught tuberculosis in his teens. He remained an ardent fan of the Munster Rugby and Young Munster teams until his death, attending many of their matches, and there are numerous stories of japes at rugby matches with actors and fellow rugby fans Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton . After recovering from tuberculosis , Harris moved to England, wanting to become a director. He could not find any suitable training courses, and enrolled in
11845-572: Was for his acting career. He was a longtime alcoholic until he became a teetotaller in 1981. Nevertheless, he did resume drinking Guinness a decade later. He gave up drugs after almost dying from a cocaine overdose in 1978. Harris was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in August 2002, reportedly after being hospitalised with pneumonia . He died at University College Hospital in Bloomsbury , London, on 25 October 2002, aged 72. Harris had quipped that "It
11960-527: Was in The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976). Harris led the all-star cast in the train disaster film The Cassandra Crossing (1976). He played Gulliver in the part-animated Gulliver's Travels (1977) and was reunited with Michael Anderson in Orca (1977), battling a killer whale. He appeared in another action film, Golden Rendezvous (1977), based on a novel by Alistair Maclean, shot in South Africa. Harris
12075-530: Was later reissued in part in an audio LP format, augmented by self-penned songs such as "I Don't Know". Harris starred in two thrillers: 99 and 44/100% Dead (1974), for John Frankenheimer , and Juggernaut (1974), for Richard Lester. In Echoes of a Summer (1976) he played the father of a young girl with a terminal illness. He had a cameo as Richard the Lionheart in Robin and Marian (1976), for Lester, then
12190-516: Was nominated eight times for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role , but was never able to win a competitive Oscar. In 2002, the Academy honoured him with an Academy Honorary Award for his entire body of work and his lifelong contribution to film. O'Toole initially balked about accepting, and wrote the Academy a letter saying that he was "still in the game" and would like more time to "win
12305-409: Was nominated for an Oscar again – one of the few times an actor had been nominated playing the same character in different films. The film was also successful at the box office. Less popular was Great Catherine (1968) with Jeanne Moreau , an adaptation of the play by George Bernard Shaw which Buck and O'Toole co-produced. In 1969, he played the title role in the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips ,
12420-416: Was originally the dominant purpose of the institution. However, providing instruction in spoken English quickly became a core area of the academy's work. In the 1880s, LAMDA began offering speech examinations to the public. Since then, these examinations have been refined and developed into a comprehensive system of performance evaluation. LAMDA Examinations has emerged as the largest Speech and Drama Board in
12535-631: Was published by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1990. His film work during this period included: Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983), Martin's Day (1985), Strike Commando 2 (1988), King of the Wind (1990) and Mack the Knife (1990) (a film version of The Threepenny Opera in which he played J.J. Peachum ) plus the TV film version of Maigret , opposite Barbara Shelley . This indicated declining popularity which Harris told his biographer, Michael Feeney Callan , he
12650-819: Was released in 1969. In the 1973 TV special " Burt Bacharach in Shangri-La", after singing Webb's "Didn't We", Harris tells Bacharach that since he was not a trained singer he approached songs as an actor concerned with words and emotions, acting the song with the sort of honesty the song is trying to convey. Then he proceeds to sing "If I Could Go Back", from the Lost Horizon soundtrack. In 1957, Harris married Elizabeth Rees-Williams, daughter of David Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore . They had three children: director Damian Harris , actor Jared Harris and actor Jamie Harris . Harris and Rees-Williams divorced in 1969, after which Elizabeth married Rex Harrison . Harris's second marriage
12765-664: Was sued by the film's producer for his drinking; Harris counter-sued for defamation and the matter was settled out of court. Golden Rendezvous was a flop but The Wild Geese (1978), where Harris played one of several mercenaries, was a big success outside America. Ravagers (1979) was more action, set in a post-apocalyptic world. Game for Vultures (1979) was set in Rhodesia and shot in South Africa. In Hollywood he appeared in The Last Word (1979), then supported Bo Derek in Tarzan,
12880-635: Was that he had always wanted to try being either a poet or an actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ( RADA ) in London from 1952 to 1954 on a scholarship. This came after being rejected by the Abbey Theatre 's drama school in Dublin by the director Ernest Blythe , because he could not speak the Irish language . At RADA, he was in the same class as Albert Finney , Alan Bates and Brian Bedford . O'Toole described this as "the most remarkable class
12995-626: Was the food!" as he was wheeled out of the Savoy Hotel for the last time. Harris spent his final three days in a coma. Harris's body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in The Bahamas , where he owned a home. Harris was a lifelong friend of actor Peter O'Toole , and his family reportedly hoped that O'Toole would replace Harris as Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). There were, however, concerns about insuring O'Toole for
13110-603: Was to the American actress Ann Turkel in 1974, they divorced in 1982. Harris was a member of the Knights of Malta . Harris paid £75,000 for William Burges ' Tower House in Holland Park in 1968, after discovering that the American entertainer Liberace had arranged to buy the house but had not yet put down a deposit. Harris employed the original decorators, Campbell Smith & Company Ltd., to carry out extensive restoration work on
13225-563: Was “a bit of a misfit, a bit of an odd man out” but that when he went to County Kerry , Ireland in 1946 he realized “I wasn’t different at all”. He possessed an Irish passport and believed he may have been born in Connemara . He owned a house in Ireland located in Clifden , County Galway . In 1969 he met future Irish president Michael D. Higgins and the two developed a friendship. His son Lorcan
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