Richard St. John Harris (October 1, 1930 to October 25, 2002) was an Irish actor, singer and songwriter. He was featured on stage and in many films, and was perhaps best known for the film role of King Arthur in “Camelot” and for the portrayal of Albus Dumbledore in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, his last film. He also played a British aristocrat and prisoner in “A Man Called Horse”.
Harris was a member of the Knights of Malta, and was also knighted by the predominantly Lutheran country of Denmark in 1985. He died of Hodgkin’s disease in 2002 at the age of 72, shortly before the U.S. premiere of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”.
Source-Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Harris