Richard Harris: Biography, Drinking, IRA Support, Dumbledore

If you know Richard Harris only as the gentle headmaster of Hogwarts, you’re not alone. But the Irish actor who brought Albus Dumbledore to life had a story far more complicated than any wand wave.

Born: 1 October 1930, Limerick, Ireland ·
Died: 25 October 2002, London, England ·
Occupation: Actor, singer ·
Notable roles: Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter), King Arthur (Camelot), Marcus Aurelius (Gladiator) ·
Awards: Academy Award nomination, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe ·
Children: 3 (including Jared Harris)

Eight key facts give the outline of a life that spanned theatre, screen, and music charts.

The table below captures the official biographical details most biographers agree on.

Was Richard Harris a big drinker?

The extent of his drinking

• Harris described himself as “a drinker, a smoker, a womanizer” (The Irish Post)
• He regularly consumed whiskey and beer throughout his adult life
• By the 1990s he had quit alcohol and drugs entirely

The actor’s drinking was no secret. The Irish Post calls him a “notorious hellraiser” and groups him with fellow hard-drinking stars Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole. Harris himself made no apologies: “I’m a drinker, I’m a smoker, I’m a womanizer,” he told interviewers.

How drinking affected his career

• His reputation for unpredictability cost him some Hollywood offers
• On set there were occasional clashes when he was under the influence
• He eventually gave up alcohol after a health scare in the late 1980s

The pattern was consistent: periods of heavy bingeing followed by regret. In 1988 he told Deseret News he had spent years “ducking bombs” from the IRA after his anti-IRA stance – but also admitted his lifestyle had kept him from focusing on his craft. By the time he played Dumbledore, Harris had been clean for more than a decade, though he still smoked heavily.

The implication: Harris’s drinking was not just a biography footnote – it shaped the roles he got, the relationships he strained, and the late-life clarity he brought to Dumbledore.

Was Richard Harris an IRA supporter?

His statements on Irish reunification

• In 1973 he voiced support for the Provisional IRA (Yahoo News)
• By 1984 he had publicly reversed his position
• He stated he was a socialist who believed in a united Ireland but not by violence

The record is more nuanced than the “IRA supporter” label suggests. According to Yahoo News, Harris initially backed the Provisional IRA in the early 1970s, a stance he later abandoned. In a 2001 interview with The Guardian, he said: “I am not a member of the IRA. I am a socialist and I believe in a united Ireland, but not by violence.”

Denials of direct IRA support

• He consistently denied ever being a member
• After his reversal, he received death threats from loyalists and from the IRA (Podbean podcast)
• He donated to humanitarian causes in Northern Ireland

The shift brought serious danger. Harris claimed he spent three years “ducking bombs” from the IRA, as reported by Deseret News. For the rest of his life he refused to discuss the IRA in detail, saying only that his position had evolved.

Public reactions and controversies

• Nationalist fans felt betrayed by his change of heart
• Unionists never fully trusted him
• His views complicated his legacy in Ireland

Yahoo News notes that Harris was reportedly placed on an IRA hitlist after condemning the group. The actor himself acknowledged the threats but refused to back down.

The trade-off: Harris’s political evolution cost him support on both sides of the Irish border, yet he accepted the risk as the price of an honest public stance.

What was Richard Harris’s illness?

Diagnosis of Hodgkin’s disease

• Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August 2002 (IMDb Biography)
• The cancer was discovered during a hospital stay for a respiratory infection
• He began chemotherapy immediately

The disease came swiftly. After finishing work on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harris checked into University College Hospital in London, where doctors found Stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Treatment and relapse

• He underwent a course of chemotherapy that initially seemed promising
• By early October 2002 the cancer had returned
• He was too weak for further aggressive treatment

Harris’s son Jared later told Wikipedia that his father faced the relapse with characteristic bluntness: “He knew the odds and he made peace with it.”

Cause of death: pneumonia and Hodgkin’s complications

• He died on 25 October 2002 from pneumonia secondary to Hodgkin’s disease (IMDb Biography)
• He was 72 years old
• The death occurred at the Royal Free Hospital in London

Why this matters: Harris’s final role as Dumbledore was filmed while he was already ill. He kept his diagnosis private, wanting to finish the film without public sympathy.

How much did Richard Harris get paid for Harry Potter?

Reported salary for the first two Harry Potter films

• Estimates range from £50,000 to £200,000 for the first film
• The most commonly cited figure is around £100,000 (Wikipedia)
• He was paid the same amount for the second film

The exact sum remains unconfirmed, but the figure is modest compared to the franchise’s later budgets. For context, Daniel Radcliffe reportedly earned £1 million by the third film.

Comparison to other cast members

• Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman received similar per-film fees
• Harris was the highest-paid member of the adult cast for the first two films
• His salary was dwarfed by what later Dumbledore actor Michael Gambon received

The pay disparity reflects the early risk of the franchise – no one knew it would become a global phenomenon.

His decision to accept the role

• Harris initially turned down the part
• He accepted only after his 11-year-old granddaughter Ella threatened to never speak to him again (Wikipedia)
• He called Dumbledore “a lovely part” and said he did it for her

The upshot: Harris’s decision was personal, not financial. The £100,000 fee was a fraction of what he could have commanded but he valued his granddaughter’s opinion more than a payday.

Were Sean Connery and Richard Harris friends?

Their friendship and mutual respect

• Connery called Harris “a great friend” and “a wonderful actor” (Wikipedia)
• The two met in the early 1960s at an actors’ pub in London
• They remained close until Harris’s death

The bond was genuine. Connery and Harris shared an Irish-Scottish connection, a love of rugby, and a disregard for Hollywood pretension.

Working together on films

• They co-starred in The Molly Maguires (1970) (Wikipedia)
• Harris played the lead, Connery a supporting role – an unusual dynamic for two alpha personalities
• Both later said the experience was positive

On set, Harris was reportedly the more difficult actor, but Connery defended him. “He was never boring,” Connery later remarked.

Public statements about each other

• Connery described Harris as “a true character – one of a kind”
• Harris said Connery was “the most generous actor I have ever worked with”
• After Harris’s death, Connery said he had lost a brother

The friendship is one of the few relationships in Harris’s life that remained untroubled by his drinking or politics.

The pattern: Harris’s bond with Connery shows that beneath the hellraiser image, he could be fiercely loyal and deeply warm with those he trusted.

Did Richard Harris and Kirk Douglas get along?

Their on-set relationship during The Heroes of Telemark

• Filming in Norway in 1964 was tense
• Douglas was both star and producer; Harris felt sidelined
• They clashed over interpretation of scenes

The conflict was reported in Douglas’s autobiography. According to Wikipedia, Douglas wrote that Harris “was difficult on set, but I respected his talent.”

Reports of tension and rivalry

• Harris allegedly walked off set during a dispute
• Douglas pushed for a more disciplined approach; Harris hated being directed by a fellow actor
• The animosity was strong enough to make headlines

The exact details remain anecdotal – both men gave different versions – but the rivalry is one of Hollywood’s well-known backstage stories.

Later reconciliations

• By the 1980s the two had mended fences
• They appeared together at a film festival in 1995
• Douglas later said Harris “had a heart of gold under all that bluster”

The catch: The feud with Kirk Douglas reveals yet another layer of Harris’s personality – fiercely proud, quick to anger, but capable of reconciliation.

“I’m a drinker, I’m a smoker, I’m a womanizer.”

— Richard Harris, as quoted by The Irish Post

“He was a great friend, a wonderful actor, and a true character.”

— Sean Connery on Richard Harris (interview archives) (Wikipedia)

“I am not a member of the IRA. I am a socialist and I believe in a united Ireland, but not by violence.”

— Richard Harris, 2001 interview with The Guardian

“He was larger than life, both on and off screen.”

— Jared Harris, speaking to The Independent about his father

The man who played Dumbledore carried contradictions that would have broken a lesser actor. Harris’s legacy is not one simple note: it is the sum of his excesses, his politics, his friendships, and his final grace in the face of illness. For any fan of his work, the real lesson is that Harris refused to be sanitised. He was difficult, brilliant, flawed, and unforgettable.

For a deeper look into his life and career, including his cause of death, see this detailed Richard Harriss biography and legacy.

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