Irish actor Michael Gambon, best known to global audiences for playing the wise professor Albus Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" movie franchise and whose career was launched by his mentor Laurence Olivier, died aged 82 on Thursday.
Gambon was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1992 and knighted for services to drama in 1998, something he called "a nice little present", although he did not use the title.