Richard Harris Net Worth

Richard Harris was an Irish actor, singer, producer, and director who had a net worth of $20 million at the time of his death in 2002. He built his fortune through a career spanning film, television, theater, music, and production.

Harris became one of Ireland’s most respected actors after earning an Academy Award nomination for his performance in This Sporting Life in 1963. He later won a Golden Globe for playing King Arthur in Camelot and earned another Oscar nomination for The Field. Younger audiences came to know him as Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Over a career that lasted more than four decades, Harris appeared in more than 70 film and television productions. His credits included The Guns of Navarone, Mutiny on the Bounty, Cromwell, The Field, Patriot Games, Unforgiven, Gladiator, and The Count of Monte Cristo. He also enjoyed success as a recording artist, particularly with his hit song “MacArthur Park.”

Harris died on October 25, 2002, at the age of 72 after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Early Life

Richard St John Francis Harris was born on October 1, 1930, in Limerick, Ireland. He was one of eight children born to Mildred and Ivan Harris, a flour merchant. The family lived in a large nine-bedroom home known as Overdale.

Harris attended the Jesuit-run Crescent College, where he developed a passion for rugby. His sporting ambitions were cut short after he contracted tuberculosis.

After recovering, Harris moved to Great Britain with ambitions of becoming a film director. Unable to find a suitable directing course, he turned to acting and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

While studying, Harris rented a small performance space and directed a production of Clifford Odets’ Winter Journey. He later became involved with Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and began appearing in West End productions, including The Quare Fellow in 1956.

Acting Career

Harris made his film debut in the 1959 movie Alive and Kicking. He followed it with roles in Shake Hands with the Devil, The Wreck of the Mary Deare, A Terrible Beauty, and The Guns of Navarone.

His major breakthrough came in 1963 with This Sporting Life. Harris played Frank Machin, a professional rugby player, and earned his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

He followed the success with films including The Bible: In the Beginning…, Camelot, Cromwell, Man in the Wilderness, Juggernaut, Robin and Marian, and The Wild Geese.

Harris also remained active during the 1980s, appearing in films such as Tarzan, the Ape Man, Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid, Triumphs of a Man Called Horse, Martin’s Day, and Highpoint.

His career received another major boost in the 1990s. He earned his second Academy Award nomination for The Field in 1991 and subsequently appeared in Patriot Games, Unforgiven, and Cry, the Beloved Country.

In 2000, Harris portrayed Marcus Aurelius in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. The film became a major box-office success and won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Harris’s final major roles included The Pearl, My Kingdom, The Count of Monte Cristo, and the first two Harry Potter films. He played Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001 and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002.

The second Harry Potter film became his final completed film role. He also lent his voice to the animated movie Kaena: The Prophecy, which was released after his death.

Theater Career

Before becoming internationally famous through film, Harris established himself as a stage actor.

He performed at London’s West End and appeared in productions including The Quare Fellow, Camelot, and Henry IV. He also returned to the stage several times throughout his career.

His portrayal of King Arthur in Camelot became one of his best-known theatrical roles. He performed the role in London’s Old Vic Theatre and later at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre.

Music Career

Acting was not Harris’s only source of income. He also developed a successful career as a singer.

His most famous recording was “MacArthur Park,” written by Jimmy Webb. The song became an international hit and reached No. 1 in Canada and Australia.

Harris released several albums and received four Grammy Award nominations. He won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording in 1974 for Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

His music career added another dimension to his entertainment career and contributed to his overall wealth.

Directing and Producing

Harris also worked behind the camera. He directed the 1970 film The Hero and served as an executive producer on Echoes of a Summer and The Return of a Man Called Horse.

His work as a producer and director gave him additional income streams beyond acting and music.

Personal Life

Richard Harris married Elizabeth Rees-Williams in 1957. The couple had three children, Jared, Jamie, and Damian, before divorcing in 1969.

All three of his children went into the entertainment industry. Jared and Jamie became actors, while Damian became a director.

Harris later married actress Ann Turkel. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1982.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, Harris became known for his hard-living lifestyle and heavy drinking. He eventually stopped drinking in the early 1980s before returning to Guinness years later. He also struggled with drug use and survived a near-fatal cocaine overdose in 1978.

Death

Harris was hospitalized with pneumonia in August 2002 and was subsequently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

He died on October 25, 2002, at London’s University College Hospital at the age of 72. He had been in a coma for three days before his death.

Following his cremation, his ashes were scattered at his home in the Bahamas.

Harris’s legacy continued after his death. Statues honoring him were later erected in Ireland, including a statue depicting him as King Arthur in his hometown of Limerick and another showing him as an 18-year-old playing racquetball in Kilkee.

Awards and Nominations

Richard Harris received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, for This Sporting Life and The Field. He also received numerous other honors during his career.

He won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor – Musical/Comedy for Camelot and received four Grammy nominations, winning for Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Harris also received BAFTA, Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, and CableACE nominations. He received lifetime achievement honors from the European Film Awards, Wine Country Film Festival, and Empire Awards.

In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Harris No. 3 on its list of the 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time.

Real Estate

Richard Harris also owned notable real estate during his lifetime. In 1968, he purchased Tower House in London, a Grade I listed property designed by Victorian architect William Burges.

Harris paid £75,000 for the property after learning that entertainer Liberace was interested in purchasing it but had not yet paid a deposit.

Harris commissioned restoration work on the house before eventually selling it to Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in 1972.

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