Actor Sir Michael Gambon has died peacefully in hospital aged 82 following a bout of pneumonia, his family revealed today. The towering figure of the British stage and screen began his 60-year career treading the boards with Sir Laurence Olivier and was much-loved with younger audiences as Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter movies. His rise to one of the world's most celebrated actors was all the more extraordinary given his humble background, born in Dublin to a working class couple who encouraged him to be an engineer after he left school at 15.

He was nominated for 13 Olivier awards after he appeared in countless productions of works by William Shakespeare, excelling as Othello. He also starred in a string of hit TV shows and in 1968 won an audition to be the next James Bond in On her Majesty's Secret Service after Sean Connery quit. But he told producer Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli 'I haven't got nice hair and I'm a bit fat' and the part went to George Lazenby. Knighted in 1999, he was loved for playing French detective Jules Maigret. As Dumbledore he became world famous after taking the part following the death of fellow Irishman Richard Harris. Sir Michael said when he played the headmaster of Hogwarts, he would 'stick on a beard and play me,' calling it 'no feat,' although his millions of fans disagreed. 

A statement on behalf of his wife Lady Gambon and son Fergus Gambon, issued by publicist Clair Dobbs, said: 'We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia. Michael was 82. We ask that you respect our privacy at this painful time and thank you for your messages of support and love.' He married retired mathematician Lady Anne in 1962. Their son Fergus is an expert on ceramics and works for auctioneer's Bonhams. He also regularly appears on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow. Sir Michael was a working-class boy made good. He was born in Dublin, his mother was a seamstress and his father an engineer for whom the notion of a career on the stage was totally alien.

He left school at 15 with no qualifications, then took up an apprenticeship as a toolmaker. By the age of 21 he was a qualified engineer, but only worked as such for a year before deciding to become an actor. Sir Michael, who has won four TV Baftas, is known for his extensive back catalogue of work across TV, film, radio and theater over a career spanning decades. In recent years he played Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films. Speaking about it recently he said of playing the wizard that he does not 'have to play anyone really.' He said: 'I just stick on a beard and play me, so it's no great feat. I never ease into a role—every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. I'm not really a character actor at all...'

Away from acting, it was reported in 2015 that he split his time between the £5million ($6million) country pile he shared with Lady Gambon near Gravesend in Kent, and a home in West London to his young sons, Tom and Will with set designer Philippa Hart (pictured together) in West London. The boys are believed to be in their early teens. Sir Michael and Philippa had been in a relationship since 2000, when they worked together on the film Longitude, in which he starred as the 18th-century watchmaker John Harrison.

Within a year of their meeting, he was openly introducing her as his girlfriend to Charles Dance, Dame Maggie Smith and other cast members on his next movie, the Oscar-winning Gosford Park, in which he played a philandering aristocrat. And while his wife was initially said to be devastated by the news, with Sir Michael moving out of their home, she evidently came to terms with the arrangement, as he subsequently moved back in. 

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