The article published on the website of the newspaper « The Guardian» on 29 March 2013 is headlined « Richard Griffiths, uncle to Withnail and Harry Potter, dies aged 65». The article reports at length that Richard Griffiths died after complications following heart surgery.
It’s an open secret that he was the award-winning actor famous for his roles in Withnail & I and Harry Potter.
It was revealed that tributes poured in for the actor. Daniel Radcliffe, who starred alongside Griffiths in the Harry Potter films, said the actor made any room "twice as funny". Griffiths had supported him at two key points in Redcliff’s career, when he first played the young Harry Potter and later when he made his stage debut in Equus.
The article carries a lot of comments and regrets about his death from different people, such as Sir Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, Richard E Grant, Hytner, who directed Griffiths, Thea Sharrock and many others.
Meanwhile, Griffiths was feted for his roles as Withnail's eccentric Uncle Monty in the cult classic and Hector, the unconventional teacher in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for best actor, the Drama Desk Award for outstanding actor in a play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for best featured actor in a play, and a Tony Award for best performance by a leading actor in a play. He gained widespread fame as grumpy Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films and was much loved as disillusioned police officer and pie chef, Inspector Henry Crabbe, in the successful TV detective drama series Pie In The Sky.
Analyzing this situation it is necessary to emphasize that he was the son of a steelworker, born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, in 1947 were he cared for his deaf parents. He left school at 15 but later studied drama, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. He married Heather Gibson in 1980 after they met during a production of Lady Windermere's Fan in 1973. His portly stature, which made him instantly recognisable on screen, was thought to have been caused by medication he was given as a youngster. He was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2007.
The author draws to conclusion that he was a very great actor.
As for me, I was very shocked, when I read about his death on the Internet. Unfortunately, I knew him only for the roles in Harry Potter and Sleepy Hollow, but I like his acting. From my point of view he was a great actor, despite his appearance which was attractive not for everyone.

Comments (1)

On 18 мая 2013 г. в 11:31 , Unknown комментирует...

Excellent job! Your slips:
1) in 1947 ( without 'were', or just 'where') he cared for his deaf parents.