Actor Richard Harris: biography and filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Irish film actor Richard Harris, whose biography opened its first page on October 1, 1930, the day he was born, was the fifth child in a Catholic family. In addition to him, the parents had eight more children. Father, Ivan Harris, and mother, Mildred Harris, sparing no effort, tried to raise nine boys and girls, educate them and secure a future. The upbringing was mainly done by the mother, and the father was busy at work. Keeping track of all the kids is not an easy task, but Mildred got up early, went to bed later and the children grew up, went to school, dance and theater clubs, sat down for lessons on their own, helped their mother with the housework.

Unfulfilled dreams

As a teenager, Richard became interested in playing rugby, this passion did not leave him until his death. The young man wanted to devote himself to sports, but his dreams did not come true, he suddenly fell ill with tuberculosis. Timely treatment allowed him to recover, but he could no longer play rugby. Harris left Ireland, moved to London and entered the Academy of Dramatic Art and Music.

After graduating, a certified actor began working in a Scottishtheater workshop Theater Workshop. In the movie, Richard Harris made his debut already in adulthood, in 1958, when he was 28 years old. Over the next three years, the actor played bit parts in low-budget films, and in 1962, fate gave him a meeting with Hollywood star Marlon Brando, with whom Harris played in the film Mutiny on the Bounty. Richard could only dream of being on the set with such a master, but it happened.

First success

In 1963, the actor was invited to play the lead role in the film directed by Lindsay Anderson called "Such is the sporting life." His character - rugby player Frank Machin - was no problem for Richard, since he himself played rugby at one time and knew this sport from the inside. The actor brilliantly coped with the role and was nominated for an Oscar, but received only the Cannes International Film Festival Award for Best Actor.

First failure

In 1964, Harris got one of the main roles in the film "Red Desert" directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, but this time his participation in the filming did not give the expected result, and the role of Corrado Zeller, the lover of the main character (Monica Vitti), turned out pale and inexpressive. The director regretted the bad choice, but there was nothing to fix.

Golden Globe

However, the role of King Arthur in the film "Camelot", filmed by director Joshua Logan in 1967year, Richard Horris succeeded as well as possible. The film was based on a stage version that ran on Broadway from 1960 to 1963. Starring Richard Burton and Julia Andrews. They unanimously refused to participate in the film adaptation of the play, and the role of the king went to Harris. For it, he received the Golden Globe Award.

Knighting

Then Richard Harris (pictures of him were already in every casting agency and he started getting cast) starred in westerns and adventure films like Unforgiven, Cassandra's Pass, The Orca, The Man named Horse. In 1985, the Queen of Great Britain awarded the actor a knighthood for being active in the field of cinema.

Dumbledore

At the end of his career, Richard Harris (actor) took part in the production of two Harry Potter films at an advanced age. He played Albus Dumbledore. The actor agreed to this role at the insistence of his granddaughter, who by all means wanted to see her grandfather on the screen with Harry Potter. Richard Harris, whose Dumbledore turned out to be colorful and personable, did not regret that he had obeyed his granddaughter. And the last film role for the actor was the character of John the Evangelist in the movie "Apocalypse".

Harris the Musician

In addition to acting, Richard was seriously involved in music. He had a good voice and an absolute ear for music. The film actor often acted as a singer-vocalist and recorded entire albums. Mosta notable collection of songs by him is A Tramp Shining, containing the seven-minute hit MakArthur Park by composer Jimmy Webb.

In the interpretation of Richard Harris, the song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single sold over a million copies. Harris' second album was also successful and was called The Yard Went On Forever. Its sales began in 1969.

Private life

Richard Harris suffered from alcoholism, it significantly harmed his he alth. In addition to drinking, he eventually became addicted to drugs. In 1978, the actor almost died from too much cocaine. After this shock, he completely abandoned the addiction. However, he continued to drink until the liver got sick. Then I had to give up alcohol. In 1981, he drank his last drink.

Richard Harris was married twice, but both marriages ended in divorce. The actor's first wife is Elizabeth Rhys-Williams, an aspiring actress. The newlyweds registered their marriage in 1957. The first child was born in 1958, he was named Damian. Another son, Jadred, appeared in 1961. The third child was born in 1963, he was named Jamie. All of Harris' children followed in their father's footsteps and began working in films. Damian is the director, the other two are actors.

Richard Harris divorced his first wife in 1969. Some time later, the actor met a twenty-four-year-old American actress named Ann Turkel. After some thought, he made herproposal, so there was another married couple. This marriage lasted only a few months and ended in divorce.

Death of actor

In the summer of 2002, Richard Harris was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a serious cancer that affects the lymph nodes. The actor died on October 25, 2002 in a clinic, surrounded by his family. In accordance with the will of Richard Harris, no funeral was held, the body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered over the Bahamas. This was his last will.

In memory of the actor

In Kilkee, Ireland, there is a life-size bronze statue of Harris by sculptor Connolly. Another statue stands in the center of Limerick, where the actor was born. He is depicted as King Arthur from the movie Camelot.

Richard Harris Filmography

The creative period of the actor, when he created his roles on the set, lasted more than forty years. The list of films with the participation of the actor Harris is as follows:

• "The Guns of Navarone", Howard Barnsby, 1961;
• "Mutiny on the Bounty", sailor John Mills, 1962;
• "Such is the sporting life", Frank Machin, 1963;
• "Red Desert", Corrado Zeller, 1964;
• "Major Dundee", Benjamin Tyreen, captain, 1965;
• "Bible", Cain, 1966;
• King Arthur Camelot, 1967;
• "Cromwell", Oliver Cromwell, 1970;
• "A Man Called Horse", John Morgan, 1970;
• "The Return of the Horseman", John Morgan, 1976;
• "Robin and Marian", Richard the Lionheart, 1976;
• "Cassandra's Pass", Chamberlain Jonathan, MD, 1976;
• "Death Among the Icebergs", Captain Nolan, 1977;
• "Wild Geese", Captain Rafer Genders, 1978;
• "Tarzan", James Parker, 1981;
• "The Triumph of a Man Called Horse", John Morgan, 1983;
• Mackey Knife, Mr. Peachum, 1989;
• "Faster than the wind", King George II, 1990;
• "Patriot Games", Paddy O'Neill, 1992;
• "Unforgiven", Englishman Bob, 1992;
• "I fought Hemingway", Frank, 1993;
• "The Language of Silence", Prescott Rowe, 1994;
• "The Barber of Siberia", Douglas McCracken, 1998;
• "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", Claude Frolo, 1998;
• "Gladiator", Marcus Aurelius, 2000;
• "Harry Potter", Albus Dumbledore, 2001;
• "The Count of Monte Cristo", Abbé Faria, 2002;
• "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", Albus Dumbledore, 2002.

Richard Harris, whose films have been watched by several generations of viewers, remains one of the most popular actors in American cinema.

Awards

• Cannes Film Festival Award, 1963, "Such is the Life of Sports"
• Golden Globe Award, 1968 Camelot Movie.
• Prize of the Moscow International Film Festival, 1971, "Cromwell".
• Bronze Cowboy Award, 1971, A Man Called Horse.
• 1974 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Album.
• Bronze Cowboy Award, 1993, film "Unforgiven".
• Prize "Contribution to Cinema", 2000.
• Award "For Contribution to Cinema", 2001.
• Richard Harris Award, 2002, posthumously.