ACTOR · BORN 1930 · DIED 2002
Richard Harris
- Born
- 1 October 1930
- Died
- 25 October 2002
- Known for
- Unforgiven (1992), The Crown (2016), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), The Wild Geese (1978)
75 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Richard Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an actor best known for Unforgiven, The Crown and Mutiny on the Bounty.
75 Interesting Facts About Richard Harris
Interesting Facts (15)
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On 30 September 2006, Manuel Di Lucia of Kilkee, County Clare, a longtime friend of Richard Harris, had a life-size bronze statue of the actor placed in Kilkee, showing him playing squash at eighteen. Sculpted by Seamus Connolly, it was unveiled by Russell Crowe. Harris was a fine squash player who won Kilkee's Tivoli Cup four years running, from 1948 to 1951, a record still unbeaten.
Richard Harris: King ArthurImage: Wikimedia Commons · William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #009
He was originally cast in Yves Montand's role in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), but left after disagreements with Barbra Streisand.
Richard Harris: Benjamin TyreenImage: Wikimedia Commons · Hollywood Press Syndicate, Public domain - #010
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As a student, Richard Harris rented the small off-West End Irving Theatre in London and directed his own production of Clifford Odets's Winter Journey (The Country Girl). The critics liked it, but it ate up all his savings. Harris said he had to sleep in a coal cellar for six weeks, though in fact he stayed with relatives in London.
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Production Story (10)
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Casting him as Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell (1970) struck many as odd: Harris was a patriotic Irish hellraiser, and Cromwell a Puritan whose campaign in Ireland has been called genocidal or near-genocidal. Harris took it because the money was too good to refuse, and said in interviews that he admired Cromwell for making Britain more democratic.
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Producers at first hesitated to cast him as King Arthur in Camelot (1967) because of his limited singing voice, but he got the part when Richard Burton, who had played it on Broadway in 1961, asked for too much money. Harris insisted on singing live himself and later had a successful pop career, touring America in 1972.
Richard Harris: King ArthurImage: Wikimedia Commons · William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #018
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Behind the Scenes (7)
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On The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), he told how, as a young actor playing Seyton in a stage "Macbeth," he was treated horribly by the lead, who kept belittling his Irish background. On opening night Harris had had enough. In Act V, Macbeth turns to him and asks, "Wherefore was that cry?" and Harris was meant to answer, "The queen, my lord, is dead," cueing the famous "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy. Instead he said, "Oh, don't worry. She's fine. She'll be up and about in ten minutes." He wrecked the performance and was promptly fired.
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Characters & Cast (4)
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However reluctant he was to take Albus Dumbledore at first, agreeing only because his granddaughter urged him to, he was determined not to let Hodgkin's disease stop him playing the part. When producer David Heyman visited him in hospital during post-production on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harris was gaunt and could barely speak above a whisper, yet he begged Heyman not to recast the role. In the end it had to be recast, and Harris died a few weeks later.
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His casting as Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell (1970) seemed strange, since Harris was a fiercely patriotic Irishman and Cromwell a Puritan whose Irish campaign has been described as genocide or near-genocide. Harris took the part because the money was too good to turn down, and said in interviews that he admired Cromwell for making England more democratic.
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Career & Awards (15)
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On 30 September 2006, longtime friend Manuel Di Lucia of Kilkee, County Clare, arranged for a life-size bronze statue of Richard Harris to be placed in Kilkee, depicting him playing squash at eighteen. The sculptor was Seamus Connolly, and Russell Crowe unveiled it. Harris was an accomplished squash player who won the Tivoli Cup in Kilkee four years in a row, 1948 to 1951, a record no one has beaten.
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As a student he rented the tiny "off-West End" Irving Theatre in London to direct his own production of Clifford Odets' "Winter Journey (The Country Girl)." Critics liked it, but it swallowed all his savings. Harris claimed he had to sleep in a coal cellar for six weeks, but really he stayed with relatives in London.
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In his youth he idolized Marlon Brando and could imitate or spoof his On the Waterfront (1954) performance at the drop of a hat. Yet they didn't get on during Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), and he blamed the American star's on-set conduct for the film overrunning its budget and schedule. In 1960s interviews he often criticized Brando's eccentric choice of films.
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Harris's first taste of Hollywood, The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959), was not a happy one; production kept stopping because star Gary Cooper was often ill. He turned down Commodus in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and was 34 when he made his first Hollywood film as a lead, Major Dundee (1965).
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Once said in an interview that he had a great fascination with authority figures and their use of power. During his career he portrayed King Arthur in Camelot (1967); Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell (1970); King Richard the Lionheart in Robin and Marian (1976); Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000) and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).
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He won the role of King Arthur in Camelot (1967), the film version of Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe's hit musical, after close friend and drinking buddy Richard Burton, who had played Arthur in the original 1960 Broadway production, turned it down. Burton had had a huge success with the, winning a 1961 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Harris replaced Burton in the roadshow of the 1980 revival of the musical when Burton was unable to continue due to bursitis, a tour that ended up back on Broadway, with Harris as Arthur, in 1981.
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Producers were wary of casting Richard Harris as King Arthur in Camelot (1967) because he couldn't really sing, but he got the part after Richard Burton, Broadway's Arthur in 1961, asked for too much money. Harris insisted on singing live and went on to a successful pop career, touring America in 1972.
Life & Family (24)
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Looking for a bedsit in London in 1954, he saw a shop window board listing rooms to rent, including one at thirteen shillings a week with a card that read "No Irishmen or black need to apply." Enraged, he wrapped his jersey around his hand, smashed the glass and took the card, which he kept for the rest of his life.
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Living in England, he nipped out for milk one day, read in the paper that Young Munster were playing at Thomond Park in Limerick, took the next flight to Ireland and spent three weeks drinking. His wife had no idea where he was. When he finally got back and rang the doorbell, she opened the door and, before she could speak, he said, "Well, why didn't you pay the ransom?"
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For the last 12 years of his life he lived in Room 758 of London's world-famous Savoy Hotel, in its "Courtside" section, which had a river view, though not as fine as the riverside rooms of the "Hotel" section. He had the room cleaned just once a week and rarely let the hotel know when he was out, so staff checked his door ten times a day to see whether the "Do Not Disturb" sign had been turned to "Make Up My Room."
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Reference databases
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