Sir Michael Gambon, known for playing Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series, has died aged 82 following a bout of pneumonia.
His family confirmed the news through his publicist Clair Dobbs.
“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon," the statement read. "Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia. Michael was 82.
“We ask that you respect our privacy at this painful time and thank you for your messages of support and love.”
Gambon began his acting career on stage in the early 1960s before moving into television and film. He was mentored by Laurence Olivier.
Although he is best known for playing Dumbledore – a role he took over in the third film of the eight-instalment movie series from the late Richard Harris in 2004, Gambon also had notable roles as a mob leader in Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover in 1989 and as the elderly King George V in Tom Hooper's The King's Speech in 2010.
Gambon was born on October 19, 1940 in Dublin. His family moved to London when he was six. He left school at 15 to begin an engineering apprenticeship and was fully qualified by 21. However, he also expressed his interest in pursuing a theatre career. He sent a letter and CV to Michael Mac Liammoir, the Irish theatre impresario who ran Dublin's Gate Theatre, and later made his debut with a small role in their 1962 production of Othello.
He caught the eye of Olivier who was looking to recruit actors for small roles in his new National Theatre Company. Under Olivier, Gambon was able to build his reputation on stage, going from supporting to starring roles in Othello, Macbeth and Coriolanus.
In the 1980s, his popularity continued to rise including breakout roles in television. In 1986, he played the lead role in Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective and won his first Bafta for Best Actor. In his career, Gambon would also in three Olivier Awards and two ensemble cast Screen Actors Guild Awards for 2001's Gosford Park and The King's Speech.
Outside of work, he was known for his prankster personality and joking around while on set. Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe once revealed how this affected him while they were shooting a scene together.
“Michael Gambon could do that to a frustrating degree," Radcliffe told GQ in October last year. "He learned that he could, when I was a teenager, he could make me laugh very, very easily. Making me laugh right up until the word 'action,' at which point I was pretty much unable to recover and he could just snap into a performance with inherent gravitas and charm. Yeah. He’s awesome."
Gambon is survived by his partner Philippa Hart and their sons Tom and Will as well as his son Fergus from his first marriage to Anne Miller.
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
WHY%20AAYAN%20IS%20'PERFECT%20EXAMPLE'
%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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