He died peacefully in hospital, PA Media reported citing a family statement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore in the 2005 fim \u201cHarry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire\u201d.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Warner Bros<\/cite><\/p>\n Gambon began his acting on the stage in the early 1960s and later moved into TV and film. Notable film roles include a psychotic mob leader in Peter Greenaway\u2019s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover<\/em> in 1989 and the elderly King George V in Tom Hooper\u2019s The King\u2019s Speech<\/em> in 2010.<\/p>\n But his best-known role was as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter<\/em> franchise, a role he took over from the third instalment in the eight-movie series after he replaced the late Richard Harris in 2004. Gambon played down the praise for his performance and said he simply played himself \u201cwith a stuck-on beard and a long robe\u201d.<\/p>\n Michael John Gambon was born on October 19, 1940, in Dublin to a seamstress mother and an engineer father. The family moved to Camden Town in London when Gambon was six as his father sought work in the city\u2019s post-war rebuilding.<\/p>\n Gambon left school aged 15 to begin an engineering apprenticeship and by 21 he was fully qualified. However, he was also a member of an amateur theatre group and always knew he would act, he told Scottish newspaper The Herald<\/em> in 2004. He was inspired by American actors Marlon Brando and James Dean, who he believed reflected the angst of teenage boys.<\/p>\n In 1962 he auditioned for the great Shakespearean actor Olivier who made him one of the founding members of the National Theatre at the Old Vic, alongside other young emerging greats that included Derek Jacobi and Maggie Smith.<\/p>\n Gambon built his reputation on the stage over the following years, making his name in particular with his 1980 portrayal of Galileo in John Dexter\u2019s Life of Galileo<\/em>.<\/p>\n The 1980s brought wider attention with the lead role in 1986 TV show The Singing Detective<\/em>, in which he played a writer suffering from a debilitating skin condition whose imagination provided the only escape from his pain. The performance won him one of his four BAFTAs.<\/p>\n He also won three Olivier Awards and two ensemble cast Screen Actors Guild Awards \u2013 for 2001\u2019s Gosford Park<\/em> and The King\u2019s Speech<\/em>.<\/p>\n Gambon was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1992 and knighted for services to drama in 1998, something he called \u201ca nice little present\u201d, although he did not use the title.<\/p>\n A mischievous personality, he often made up stories. For years he showed fellow actors a signed photograph of Robert De Niro which he had in fact inscribed himself before ever meeting the American actor.<\/p>\n