Michael Gambon was born on October 19, 1940 and passed away on September 27, 2023. He was a widely celebrated actor, perhaps known most widely for his role as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter.

Michael was born in Ireland but his family moved to England when he was 6 years old. After leaving school, he became an apprentice for toolmaker Vickers-Armstrongs, and over the course of five years became a qualified engineering technician. It was through this experience that he developed a lifelong passion for collecting antique guns, clocks, watches, and classic cars.

At 24 years old, Michael decided he wanted to get into acting, and drafted a completely fake resume that indicated he had years of experience. This resume got him hired by Gate Theatre, and in 1962, Michael made his acting debut as "Second Gentleman" in Othello. He then moved to the National Theatre Company and acted in a number of plays, but it wasn't until 195 that he made his film debut.

His film debut was actually also Othello, and he acted alongside Maggie Smith, who would become Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter. Through 1974 he continued to act and continued to gain noteriety.

In 1980, he found a lot of fame after his role in The Life of Galileo, both from fans and critics and from fellow actors. For the next nearly 25 years, Michael continued acting and gathering professional acclaim.

In 2004, Michael took on the role of Hogwarts' headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, after the previous actor, Richard Harris, passed away in 2002. He was Dumbledore for all of the movies excluding the first and second, and famously said that when playing Dumbledore did did not "have to play anyone really. I just stick on a beard and play me, so it's no great feat."

While continuing his role as Dumbledore, he appeared in many other movies, television shows, and theatre productions. However in 2015, he announced that he would be giving up stagework, as it was taking him increasingly longer to memorize his lines. His final film role was in 2019: Cordelia.

Michael married Anne Miller in 1962, but very famously kept his personal life private. They had one son together, Fergus, who later became a ceramics expert on Antiques Roadshow.

In 2001, Gambon brought a woman named Philippa Hart to the set while filming and introduced her as his girlfriend. Their affair was publicly revealed in 2022, and he moved out of his home he shared with Anne, though they later reconciled. He was with Hart from 2000 to 2007, and the pair had two sons together.

Michael was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his service to drama. He was also a qualified private pilot and also raced cars. He passed away with his wife, Anne, and son, Fergus, at his bedside after a bout of pneumonia. He made headlines a few months later when it was revealed that he left nothing to Philippa Hart, his long-term girlfriend and the mother of two of his sons. Almost all of his fortune was left to Lady Gambon.

Throughout his career, Michael received 3 Oliver Awards and 4 BAFTA TV Awards.