Actor Richard Harris dies

October 25, 2002 2:26 PM

Actor Richard Harris dies "Don't let it be forgot - that once there was a spot - for one brief, shining moment - that was known as Camelot..." Such a sad day all around. R.I.P., Richard.
posted by dnash (21 comments total)

"I'm not interested in reputation or immortality or things like that...I don't care what I'm remembered for. I don't care if I'm remembered. I don't care if I'm not remembered. I don't care why I'm remembered. I genuinely don't care."

I know that I, for one, will remember him.
RIP Richard.
posted by tomcosgrave at 2:32 PM on October 25, 2002

Here's a better link:

BBC Obituary.
posted by dnash at 2:33 PM on October 25, 2002

very sad - appeared in some great films. Camelot, Guns of Navarone, Unforgiven of course Gladiator and the Harry Potter films - will be sadly missed
posted by monkeyJuice at 2:37 PM on October 25, 2002

What is this CNN Breaking News Filter ;)
posted by zeoslap at 2:38 PM on October 25, 2002

Lets see Harry fix this one - No Dumbledore no more. News at 11:00
posted by Perigee at 2:45 PM on October 25, 2002

Don't forget he also sang the legendarily awful MacArthur Park, with its unforgettable lyric "Someone left the cake out in the rain."

He'll be missed. But if I never hear that song again, that's OK too.
posted by GaelFC at 2:54 PM on October 25, 2002

The Field was the best film of the early '90s (it came out in 1990, not 2000 as stated in dnash's link).
posted by rushmc at 2:59 PM on October 25, 2002

I work with a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is around Harris' age and knew the bloke. I called him to tell him about Harris' passing and here was his response:

"Well, God rest his soul. He was a splendid fellow. I saw him in a breathtaking performance of Pirandello's 'Henry the IV.' On his best days, he was easily as good as O'Toole. On the other hand, after all the things he did to his body in his youth, it is something of a wonder he lived as long as he did."
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:09 PM on October 25, 2002

Harris is gone now, but Adam Adamant Lives!
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:17 PM on October 25, 2002

Very sad to lose him. I think he was more consistently good than Peter O' Toole. I loved him in an obscure little film he did with Robert Duvall--Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. And I was watching him just last night in Gladiator. He may not have cared whether he was remembered, but he will be.
posted by gordian knot at 4:31 PM on October 25, 2002

well, I for one shall always treasure him for his contributions to films like Juggernaut, The Wild Geese and Orca, Killer Whale. He was a Seventies Film God!

(and actually I rather like Macarthur Park, so there).
posted by gdav at 4:43 PM on October 25, 2002

are there any hellraisers left now?
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:26 PM on October 25, 2002

sgt.serenity: Although I have my doubts, this site says Peter O'Toole is still alive. Who would have believed he'd out-live Reed, Burton, and Harris?

My great-aunt went to RADA with Harris and O'Toole. She has, by far, the best drinking stories I have ever heard.
posted by Monk at 6:12 PM on October 25, 2002

Oh, yeah, gdav, I loved The Wild Geese! Even if it wasn't the greatest film of all time, it was one of the Harris performances I enjoyed most. In Juggernaut he was apparently just there to prove that movie stars have car payments to make too. What the hell, Sir Laurence Olivier made a bunch of what a FOAF calls "The Larry Oliver movies" that aren't bad, just not landmark performances.

So what if a signally great actor turns in merely a pretty good performance with limited material? "English Bob" had maybe ten minutes of screen time, but he rocked -- "Bunch of bloody savages!"
posted by alumshubby at 7:24 PM on October 25, 2002

Interesting confusion over his nationality: BBC News24 just referred to him as British [wonder how he woulda took that], whereas the BBC Net news site decently refers to him as Irish (He was born in1930 in Limerick, after Ireland became an independent state in 1922, but before it left the Commonwealth in 1949).

One of those cases where if the Brits wanna bask in reflected glory of the Celts [the same practice occurs w/r/t Scots & Welsh, too], when it suits?
posted by dash_slot- at 7:58 PM on October 25, 2002

Although I have my doubts, this site says Peter O'Toole is still alive.

I had the opportunity to say hi to Peter O'Toole two years ago, and he seemed at least somewhat alive then. Quite friendly, even... as for Harris, well, cheers to a life well lived.
posted by transient at 9:06 PM on October 25, 2002

I remember him best in A Man Called Horse.

The scene where he sticks thingies through his chest and dances around a pole... egads
posted by titboy at 9:29 PM on October 25, 2002

That Wrestling Ernest Hemingway recommendation is not wrong. Rent it, and make up your own mind. I thought it was one of his best performances.

I thought he played the little dangerous rat to perfection, and I think I'll go drink some of the expensive whiskey I have in the closet now.

I was about to say that it's a shame he couldn't have taken better care of himself, and lived longer, but feeling the warmth of a little 18 year old Orkney Island, I can't really say that he was wrong.
posted by dglynn at 11:11 PM on October 25, 2002

"Very sad to lose him."

It's not a sad day. He did what he loved to do. Entertained millions. Performed everything from Shakespeare to Harry Potter. Got drunk and partied in his youth. Annoyed directors. Had three sons. Was loved by family, friends, and the world. Proudly strode his own path and to hell with anyone who stood in his way. The man kicked ass and took names. If only all lives were lived as full as his. He said he doesn't care how or if he's remembered, but I doubt he'd want anyone to mourn him. He lived a good life.

Don't be sad. Have a drink with friends in his honor. See one of his better films (again, if you've seen them all before). Then move forward. It's more of a tribute than he would expect from you, far less perhaps than he deserved, but you'll feel the better for it.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:24 AM on October 26, 2002

I cried when reading Peter O'Toole's tribute to him. Where have all the great drinkers gone? It seems like alcoholics who give up die soon after giving up. I sort of wish he'd died drunk.

Ditto on praise for The Field...
posted by Schweppes Girl at 1:56 PM on October 27, 2002

Dayum! He was a great actor with a great personality. Well... I guess we've been lucky to have had him as long as we did. Perhaps I'll go watch Camelot tonight...

One of those cases where if the Brits wanna bask in reflected glory of the Celts [the same practice occurs w/r/t Scots & Welsh, too], when it suits?

I didn't think British implied being English? Anyway the Scots and Welsh live on Brittain so technically 'Brit' is correct - I thought Ireland was considered a British Isle as well?
posted by cx at 4:15 AM on October 28, 2002