Richard Harris, famous for his roles as King Arthur in Camelot (1967) and Prof. Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies (2001, 2002), died on October 25, 2002, of Hodgkin's disease. He was 72 years old.

Harris often brought a brooding quality to his characters, which may have been a reflection of his real-life character. He had a reputation as a bar fighter, raconteur, and rascal. The Harry Potter filmmakers asked Harris to sign on to film all seven episodes, which he did reluctantly. He commented: "I hate that kind of commitment. I hate the idea that my life in any way is sort of restricted…That's why my marriages broke up. I hate commitment, and I'm totally unreliable anyway."