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Today, Richard Harris stars opposite fellow cinematic great Alec Guinness in the historical drama Cromwell, which airs from 1.30pm on TCM Movies. It follows the divide sparked between Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I. As their relationship worsens, full-scale drama erupts in England, which sees the pair face off in Parliament, before a civil war ignites, and a battle between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers takes place. The 1970 film saw its performances from Guinness and Harris celebrated by critics, as well as production and costume designs. However, it did draw fierce criticism due to some historical accuracies within it.
The Oscar-winning film was celebrated, though, by FilmInk, which said it “does have some good things about it: Alec Guinness is superb as Charles I, and the production design is amazing. But it’s dull. So dull. Every time Richard Harris walks on screen he looks as though he’s about to give a speech and he does”.
Harris became one of Ireland’s most sought-after and acclaimed stars thanks to a back catalogue of films which earned him two Oscar nominations for Best Actor for his roles in This Sporting Life and The Field.
For younger audiences who had not perhaps seen him in the likes of A Man Called Horse, Unforgiven or Gladiator, his popularity erupted once more in the early Noughties when he played Hogwarts’ fabled wizard and headteacher Albus Dumbledore.
Harris played the character in two films of the franchise — Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — before sadly passing away on October 25, 2002 after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease earlier that year.
In the build-up to his death, Harris spoke with sadness about how he had “no friends” in showbusiness anymore: “I don’t go to their clubs, don’t go to their hangouts and don’t mix at al. I am part of the business but I am apart from it.”
But according to the Irish Independent’s Jonathan de Burca Butler noted in a piece to mark the 15th anniversary of Harris’ death that when the legend “reached what he saw as the unexpected milestone of 70, he took delight in being old enough that he could be eccentric and get away with it'”.
He continued: “His residence at The Savoy Hotel in London, was costing him a fortune but, as he quite rightly pointed out, there were people paying mortgages who couldn’t call someone at four in the morning for a sandwich.
“He could and he did. Not that he let the apparently excellent service get in the way of a good joke.
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“‘It was the food!’ he bellowed as he was wheeled out of the hotel for the last time. It wasn’t. It was in fact Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”
Harris’ joyful sense of humour was something that followed him his whole life, but he often showed a more sombre side, particularly when it came to the question of whether he would continue as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise.
With Harris’ health deteriorating badly, director Chris Columbus visited the actor while he was in hospital in his final days, making the heartbreaking vow to not recast the character, confiding his confidence in his eventual recovery.
But Harris didn’t survive. And after his death his family reportedly spoke of their hope that his friend and fellow acting royalty Peter O’Toole would take over as Hogwarts’ headteacher.
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But much like Harris, time was against O’Toole and the production team had fears the actor may not have the ability to see out the role in full, with still six more films to be made in the series.
It eventually went to Michael Gambon, who discussed Dumbledore with Future Movies in 2007. He said: “Well, I don’t have to play anyone really.
“I just stick on a beard and play me, so it’s no great feat. I never ease into a role – every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. I’m not really a character actor at all.”
Cromwell airs from 1.30pm today on TCM Movies.
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