[Deathwatch] Richard Harris, actor, 72

[Deathwatch Central]

Actor Richard Harris Dies in Hospital
1 hour, 21 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Oscar-nominated Irish actor Richard Harris (news),
for years one of the wild men of stage and screen along with Richard
Burton and Peter O'Toole (news), died in the hospital Friday at age 72.
He suffered from Hodgkin's disease.

"Richard Harris died this evening at 1900 hours (3 p.m.)," said a
spokeswoman for University College of London Hospital.

The two-time Oscar nominee was famed for his stage and screen
portrayals of King Arthur in the musical "Camelot" as well for starring
roles in such films as "This Sporting Life" and "A Man Called Horse."

But he endeared himself to a new generation of fans playing the part of
the benevolent wizard, Professor Albus Dumbledore, in "Harry Potter
(news - web sites) and the Sorcerer's Stone," released last year.

Like Burton and O'Toole, Harris gained as much notoriety for his
exploits as a hard-drinking hellraiser as for his acting talents,
though he swore off alcohol in the 1980s.

His family said Harris had died peacefully. Hodgkin's disease is a form
of lymphatic cancer.

"With great sadness Damien, Jared and Jamie Harris announce the death
of their beloved father, Richard Harris. He died peacefully at
University College Hospital," said a statement by his three children.

At a news conference earlier Friday to launch the second "Harry Potter"
film, producer David Heyman said he and director Christopher Columbus
had visited Harris recently in the hospital and he had appeared to be
fighting back.

"Richard has been sick with Hodgkin's disease. Both Chris and I have
been to visit him in hospital, and he seemed to be doing OK," Heyman
said.

"He did threaten to kill me if I recast (Professor Dumbledore). I
cannot even repeat what he said. He still has got that fight inside of
him," Columbus said.

Harris earned two Oscar nominations during his film career, once for
his breakthrough 1963 supporting role as a bitter young coal miner who
becomes a professional rugby star in "This Sporting Life" and again
nearly 30 years later for his comeback role as an elderly curmudgeon
determined to hold onto his property in the 1990 drama "The Field." He
made his movie debut in the 1958 film "Alive and Kicking."