Michael Gambon was born in Cabra, a suburb of Dublin, on October 19 1940. When he was six years old, his family moved to London. He attended St Aloysius Boys' School in Somers Town and St Aloysius' College in Highgate. He later attended Crayford Secondary School, but left at age 15. He apprenticed as a toolmaker with Vickers-Armstrongs at age 16. He was a qualified engineering technician by the time he was 21.
Michael Gambon made his debut as a professional actor in a production of Othello at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. He later joined Lord Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company, which included such other actors as Frank Finlay, Derek Jacobi, and Robert Stephens. He made his film debut in Othello in 1965. It was in 1967 that he made his television debut in an episode of Softly, Softly. In the late Sixties he guest starred on Public Eye, Fraud Squad, and Confession. He was one of the leads on the TV series The Borderers.
In the Seventies he was a regular on the TV shows Eyeless in Gaza, The Challengers, and The Other One. He guest starred on the shows The Man Outside, Kate, Softly, Softly: Task Force, Love Story, Menace, A Picture of Katherine Mansfield, Special Branch, Arthur of the Britons, Six Days of Justice, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, Orson Welles' Great Mysteries, Zodiac, Second City Firsts, Masquerade, Centre Play, ITV Sunday Night Drama, Play for Today, The Sunday Drama, BBC Play of the Month, Play for Love, Premiere, and Tales of the Unexpected. He appeared in the movies Nothing But the Night (1973) and The Beast Must Die (1974).
In the Eighties Michael Gambon starred in the TV shows Oscar and The Singing Detective. He guest starred on the shows ITV Playhouse. Bergerac, and Theatre Night. He appeared in the movies Turtle Diary (1985), Paris By Night (1988), The Rachel Papers (1989), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), and A Dry White Season (1989).
In the Nineties he played Chief Inspector Jules Maigret on the TV series Maigret. He was The Storyteller on the TV series The Storyteller: Greek Myths. He appeared in the mini-series Samson and Delilah and Wives and Daughters. He guest starred on the TV series Minder and Performance. He appeared in the movies Mobsters (1991), Toys (1992), Clean Slate (1994), A Man of No Importance (1994), Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994), Nothing Personal (1995), Two Deaths (1995), The Innocent Sheep (1995), Mary Reilly (1996), The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Gambler (1997), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Plunkett & Macleane (1999), The Last September (1999), The Insider (1999), and Sleepy Hollow (1999).
In the Naughts Michael Gambon took over the role of Professor Albus Dumbleore with the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004 following the death of Richard of Harris. He played Dumbledore in the remaining "Harry Potter" movies: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--Part Two (2011). He also voiced Dumbledore in "Harry Potter" video games. He appeared in the movies High Heels and Low Lifes (2001), Gosford Park (2001), Charlotte Gray (2001), Ali G Indrahouse (2002), The Actors (2003), Open Range (2003), Sylvia (2003), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Being Julia (2004), Layer Cake (2004), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Omen (2006), Amazing Grace (2006), The Good Shepherd (2006), The Good Night (2007), The Baker (2007), Brideshead Revisited (2008), The Book of Eli (2010), and The King's Speech (2010). He was the voice of Franklin Bean in the animated movie Fantastic Mr. Fox. He guest starred on the TV shows Cranford and Doctor Who. He appeared in the mini-series Perfect Strangers, Angels in America, and Emma.
In the Teens Michael Gambon starred on the show Luck and Fortitude. He appeared in the min-series Lucan, Quirke, The Casual Vacancy, Fearless, and Little Women. He guest starred on the show The Hollow Crown. He appeared in the movies Quartet (2012), Dad's Army (2017), Viceroy's House (2017), Mad to be Normal (2017), Victoria & Abdul (2017), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), The Last Witness (2018), The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018), King of Thieves (2018), Johnny English Strikes Again (2018), Judy (2019), and Cordelia (2019). He was the voice of Uncle Pastuzo in both Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017), He was the narrator for Hail, Caesar! (2016).
I have to think that for many younger viewers Sir Michael Gambon will always be best known as Professor Albus Dumbledore. And there is no denying he was marvellous in the role, but he also played a wide variety of other parts in which he was also great. He was perfect as the pianist Jan Jarmokowski in the Amicus Productions horror movie The Beast Must Die. He gave a fantastic performance as Albert Spica, the brutal, coarse gangster who wants to be a gourmet in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. On television he did well as mystery writer Phillip E. Marlow and the fictional detective of his creation. He gave a good performance as Chief Inspector Maigret on the 1992 TV series Maigret. Michael Gambon played a wide variety of roles, often dramatically different from each other, and played all of them well.
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