Profile Text
Birth Name: Michael John Gambon
Date of Birth: 19 October, 1940
Place of Birth: Cabra, Dublin, Ireland
Date of Death: 27 September, 2023
Place of Death: Witham, Essex, England, U.K.
Ethnicity: Irish
Michael Gambon was an Irish-British actor. A prominent Shakespearean stage actor, he became known worldwide for playing the wizard Albus Dumbledore, beginning with Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban in 2004; and had also starred in the films Othello (1965), The Beast Must Die , The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover ; Mobsters (1991), Toys (1992), The Browning Version (1994), Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale , Midnight in Saint Petersburg , Mary Reilly , The Gambler (1997), The Wings of the Dove , Dancing at Lughnasa , Plunkett & Maclean , The Insider , The Last September , Sleepy Hollow (1999), Gosford Park , Charlotte Gray , Open Range , Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow , The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou , The Omen , Amazing Grace (2006), The Good Shepherd , The Good Night , Brideshead Revisited (2008), Fantastic Mr. Fox , in voice role; The Book of Eli , The King’s Speech , Quartet (2012), Paddington (2014), in voice performance; Dad’s Army (2016), Viceroy’s House , Victoria & Abdul , Kingsman: The Golden Circle , and Judy (2019); on the series The Singing Detective (1986), Wives and Daughters , Longitude (2000), Perfect Strangers (2001), Cranford , Emma (2009), and The Casual Vacancy ; and in the made-for-tv movie Path to War .
He was the son of Mary (Hoare), a seamstress, and Edward Gambon, an engineering operative. His family moved to London, England, during his childhood, while his father was part of the post-war rebuilding of the city. They lived in Mornington Crescent, Camden. He was raised Catholic. Michael became a British citizen. He was one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre.
Michael had a son with his wife, mathematician Anne Miller; and two children with his partner, set designer Philippa Hart.