Richard Harris Biography

Richard Harris was born on 1 October 1930, in Limerick, Irish Free State, to Ivan John Harris and Mildred Josephine Harris. He and his siblings, Patrick Ivan, Noel William Michael, Diarmid Dermot, and William George Harris, were brought up in a middle class household.

He attended ‘Crescent College’ and was considered to be a brilliant rugby player; he played at many ‘Munster Junior’ and ‘Senior Cups’ for his school team. Unfortunately, his sports career was cut short after contracting tuberculosis.

He read voraciously for two years while he was recuperating from TB, and his ambitions changed after that. He decided that he wanted a career in arts and moved to England where he enrolled at the ‘London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art’ in 1956.

After completing his studies, Harris joined Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and started acting in West End Theater productions like ‘The Quare Fellow’ (1956). He spent many years in England, working in various theater productions.

Harris made his debut with 1959’s ‘Alive and Kicking,’ after which he started getting roles in a number of major motion pictures. He appeared in the World War II action adventure ‘The Guns of Navarone.’ He then appeared in ‘Mutiny on the Bounty.’

His first major movie was ‘This Sporting Life’ in 1963 in which he portrayed the role of a coal miner-turned-famous rugby player. He earned the ‘Best Actor’ award at the ‘Cannes Film Festival’ for the movie.

‘Camelot’ (1967), in which he played the role of ‘King Arthur,’ did not do well commercially. Subsequently, Harris bought the rights to the show and staged ‘Camelot’ many times throughout his career, which proved to be a success.

Harris managed to impress the critics and his fans alike with ‘A Man Called Horse’ in 1970, in which he played the role of an English noble who gets captured by Native Americans.

In 1971, he appeared in a BBC TV film adaptation of ‘The Snow Goose.’ Its screenplay by Paul Gallico won a ‘Golden Globe’ award for ‘Best Movie made for Television.’ It was also nominated for a ‘BAFTA’ and ‘Emmy Award.’

Throughout the 1970s, Harris did movies like ‘Man in the Wilderness’ (1971), ‘Juggernaut’ (1974), ‘The Cassandra Crossing’ (1976), ‘Orca’ (1977), ‘Golden Rendezvous’ (1977), ‘The Wild Geese’ (1978), ‘Ravagers’ (1979), and ‘A Game for Vultures’ (1979).

In 1973, Harris got his book of poetry published under the title ‘I, In the Membership of My Days.’ The book was later re-released in an audio LP format, with added self-written songs like ‘I Don’t Know.’

He announced his retirement in the 1980s, but his retirement was only transitory. He starred in ‘The Field’ in 1990, in which he played a farmer who fights to keep his family’s lands. He followed it up with Clint Eastwood’s western film ‘Unforgiven’ (1992).

In 2000, his portrayal of Roman leader ‘Marcus Aurelius’ in Ridley Scott’s Academy Award winning British–American epic historical drama film ‘Gladiator,’ won him critical appreciation. The film also starred Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, and Oliver Reed among others.

Later, he appeared in movies like Kevin Reynolds’ ‘The Count Of Monte Cristo’ (2002), ‘Kaena: The Prophecy’ (2003), etc. He also played the supporting role of ‘Albus Dumbledore’ in the first two ‘Harry Potter’ films.

His portrayal of ‘Frank Machin’ in ‘This Supporting Life’ (1963) is considered to be the most significant work of his career. It was his first starring role and he won the ‘Best Actor Award’ at ‘Cannes Film Festival.’

Harris won many accolades for his acting skills. These accolades include ‘Golden Globe Award’ for ‘Best Motion Picture Actor (Musical/Comedy)’ for ‘Camelot,’ ‘Best Actor Award’ at the 1963 ‘Cannes Film Festival’ for ‘This Sporting Life,’ and ‘Grammy Award’ for ‘Best Spoken Word Recording’ for ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull.’

Harris married Elizabeth Rees-Williams, the daughter of David Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore, in 1957. The couple had three children: Jared Harris, Jamie Harris, and Damian Harris. They got divorced in 1969.

He then got married to the American actress Ann Turkel in 1974, but this marriage also ended in divorce in 1982.

He died at the ‘University College Hospital,’ London, on 25 October 2002, aged 72. His mortal remains were cremated and the ashes were scattered in the Bahamas.

He was an alcoholic, but became a teetotaler in 1981.

He almost died of cocaine overdose in 1978.

This actor died two-and-a-half weeks before the American premiere of his movie ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.’

He was a member of the ‘Roman Catholic Knights of Malta,’ and was knighted by the Queen of Denmark in 1985.

At the 2009 BAFTAs, Mickey Rourke dedicated his ‘Best Actor’ award to Harris.

Some of his albums are: ‘The Yard Went On Forever’ (1968), ‘The Richard Harris Love Album’ (1972), ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ (1973), and ‘Mack The Knife’ (1989).