To some, he’s Dumbledore, but to me he’ll always be Arthur or Wart. Richard Harris was actually afraid he’d just be remembered for the Harry Potter movies, so let’s make sure that doesn’t happen by taking a look over his long resume in historical costume movies and TV. He started with “angry young man” roles and then became a stage and Hollywood star playing kings and usurpers — perhaps because he was fascinated by authority figures and how they used power. This likely comes from being a proud Irishman and supporting the IRA throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He was a hell raiser, he was down-to-earth, and he hated pretentious actors. Here’s to Richard Harris and his many frock flick roles!
Terence O’Brien in Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)
Sean Reilly in The Night Fighters aka A Terrible Beauty (1960)
Cpl. Johnstone in Jungle Fighters (1961)
Squadron Leader Barnsby in The Guns of Navarone (1961)
Seaman John Mills in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
Captain Benjamin Tyreen in Major Dundee (1965)
Knut Strand in The Heroes of Telemark (1965)
Capt. Rafer Hoxworth in Hawaii (1966)
King Arthur in Camelot (1967)
Detective James McParlan/James McKenna in The Molly Maguires (1970)
John Morgan in A Man Called Horse (1970)
Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell (1970)
Zachary Bass in Man in the Wilderness (1971)
Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick in The Deadly Trackers (1973)
King Richard the Lionheart in Robin and Marian (1976)
John Morgan in The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976)
Lemuel Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels (1977)
James Parker in Tarzan the Ape Man (1981)
King Arthur in Camelot (1982)
John Morgan in Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983)
Mr. Peachum in Mack the Knife (1989)
King George II in King of the Wind (1990)
‘Bull’ McCabe in The Field (1990)
English Bob in Unforgiven (1992)
Prescott Roe in Silent Tongue (1993)
Dom Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1997)
Makkreken in The Barber of Siberia (1998)
Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000)
Abbe Faria in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Lucius Cornelius Sulla in Caesar (2002)
How do you remember Richard Harris in historical costume movies or TV shows?
Abbé Faria! I love this version of Count of Monte Cristo!
What a weird coincidence that I just watched part of the recorded Broadway version of Camelot from the 80s. Not gonna lie, I thought Harris was awful in it! But I haven’t seen the earlier movie version. He had a really terrible wig in it (a weird page boy monstrosity that I think was trying to make him look younger) and he just kind of threw himself around the stage, laughing in between all of his lines in a way that felt kind of unhinged and twirling a scarf around his neck. I also really dislike that patter talk singing that performers do when they can’t sing, but that’s really a personal preference.
I loved him as King Arthur in Camelot. Dave Thomas of SCTV used to the most hilarious impression of him. It was also years before I realized that Richard Harris sang McArthur’s Park.
That’s my second favorite impression from SCTV! My absolute favorite is Rick Moranis doing Gordon Lightfoot (Gordon Lightfoot Sings Every Song Ever Written). :)
Of course I adore him as Dumbledore. But I knew him as Gulliver first, and still have that darn ‘Lilliput ‘ song stuck in my head all these years later, with the image of Harris pulling those little boats through the water!
I saw Mr. Harris as King Arthur in the 1967 film version of Camelot. I was 10 years old. To this day I think Guinevere a fool for preferring Lancelot to Arthur.
I agree! The actor who played Arthur in the recent Broadway revival was Arthur as I always imagined him and I wanted the play to end differently even more than I usually do.
Is there anything more perverse than a supporter of the IRA playing Oliver Cromwell? (Small wonder that, for my money, Sir Alec Guinness’ Charles the First makes a far better job of embodying his character and does far more for the film).
On the other hand he made a fine job of playing The Wart (at least in the original film) and many another role, so I have fond memories of his work nonetheless (Though I admit that my favourite song in CAMELOT is ‘C’est moi’, so even though Mr Franco Nero sang not a word, all that delightful swagger left a strong positive impression on his performance).