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Sir Michael Gambon has died in hospital aged 82.
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Sir Michael was born in 1940 in Dublin, educated in London and served a seven-year engineering apprenticeship before being selected by Sir Laurence Olivier for Britain's National Theatre in 1963.
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Image caption,On stage in 1965 in The National Theatre production of Mother Courage by Bertold Brecht
He quickly became well-known for his work in a number of Alan Ayckbourn plays.
Despite making his screen debut in Olivier's 1965 film adaptation of Othello, he concentrated on stage work.
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Image caption,Starring with Felicity Kendall in Table Manners by Alan Ayckbourn, in 1974 at London's Globe Theatre
He went on to appear regularly at the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company in roles including King Lear, Othello, Mark Anthony and Volpone.
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Image caption,In a National Theatre production of Volpone
His lead role in John Dexter's production 1980 of Galileo led to much greater recognition of his talents, but it was to be a 1986 TV series which made him a household name.
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Image caption,As Galileo Galilei at the Olivier Theatre in 1980
Dennis Potter's menacing and imaginative TV series The Singing Detective cast Sir Michael in the lead role, a man crippled with psoriasis who has a fantasy life as a private eye.
As Philip Marlow in The Singing Detective, a six-part drama with music
The series brought huge acclaim for his performance - as well as a Bafta for best actor, his first of four.
Philip Marlow suffered from psoriasis
His film career began in earnest with Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), which cast him in a sadistic role opposite Helen Mirren and Tim Roth.
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Image caption,The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover was written and directed by Peter Greenaway.
He went on to work in a wide variety of films, including A Man of No Importance (1994), The Browning Version (1994), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), and Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999).
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Image caption,Gambon on horseback in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
In 2001 he appeared in Robert Altman's highly-rated Gosford Park, which won an Oscar for best screenplay and an ensemble acting award from the Screen Actors Guild.
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Image caption,Gambon appeared alongside Emily Watson and Richard E. Grant in Gosford Park
He received a TV Bafta in 2000 for the BBC One drama Wives & Daughters, and repeated the feat the following year for his work in Channel 4's Longitude.
2002's award for his performance in BBC Two's Perfect Strangers was, remarkably, his third win in as many years.
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Image caption,Sir Michael, seen here with actress Kim Cattrall, won Best Actor award for Perfect Strangers at the British Academy Television Awards
Gambon amassed a legion of new fans for his performance as Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - a role he inherited following the death of Richard Harris in 2002.
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Image caption,As Dumbledore, the headmaster of wizarding school Hogwarts
He was to continue in the role, starring in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the final two films of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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Image caption,Casting spells in the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
His TV and film roles continued, notably appearing in the 2010 Christmas Special of Doctor Who, A Christmas Carol.
As Kazran opposite Matt Smith's Dr Who
In early 2015, Sir Michael announced he was no longer able to play roles on stage due to problems remembering lines.
Image source, Alamy
Image caption,Sir Michael starred in Gate Theatre Dublin's production of Samuel Beckett's, Eh Joe, at the Edinburgh International Festival
Sir Michael also played Henry Tyson in Sky Atlantic's Fortitude. It was to be one of his final screen performances.
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