Alan Rickman has died at the age of 69 after waging a secret
battle with cancer, his family said today.
The British actor, known for his roles in films such as Harry
Potter and Robin Hood, kept his fight with illness private before his death.
He revealed last year that he had secretly married his
long-term partner Rima Horton, whom he had been in a relationship with since
1977, in a New York ceremony in 2012.
His family said in a statement today: 'The actor and
director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded
by family and friends.
Rickman, who was born into a working-class family in London,
began his acting career on the stage before graduating to Hollywood films.
He became one of the best-known villains in showbiz -
appearing as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves and Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films.
The actor's other well-known films include Truly, Madly,
Deeply, Sense and Sensibility and Love Actually, in which he played the wife of
his frequent collaborator Emma Thompson.
Public figures were quick to pay tribute to Mr Rickman after
the news of his unexpected death was announced today.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Twitter: 'Very sad to
hear that Alan Rickman has passed away. One of the greatest actors of his
generation. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
Author Tony Parsons added: 'Alan Rickman added a touch of
class to everything he touched.
And Stephen Fry said: 'What desperately sad news about Alan
Rickman. A man of such talent, wicked charm and stunning screen and stage
presence. He'll be sorely missed.
Boy George was one of many to highlight Rickman's role as
Snape, tweeting: 'Goodbye Alan Rickman. You were genius in Harry Potter.
Several fans mentioned that Rickman's death came just a few
days after that of David Bowie, who also died aged 69 after secretly fighting
cancer.
Eddie Izzard said: 'I do not want my heroes to die! Alan
Rickman is dead and he was another hero. Alan - thank you for being with us. We
are sorry you had to go.
Rickman's death comes just months ahead of the release of a
new film called Eye In The Sky in which he stars alongside Helen Mirren and
Aaron Paul, due to open in Britain on April 8.
Just last year, the star revealed he had married long-term
partner Rima Horton, half a century after they first meet as teenagers.
Talking about the ceremony, Rickman said: 'It was great
because no one was there. After the wedding in New York, we walked across the
Brooklyn Bridge and ate lunch.
Rickman was a director as well as an actor - but he was
unable to go behind the camera for almost two decades because of his duties on
the Harry Potter films.
Speaking after his film A Little Chaos, in which he played
Louis XIV, he revealed that he had not expected to be tied up with the magical
children's film for so long.
'I wasn't free until now because I started doing Harry
Potter, and when I started there were only three books written so I didn't know
I was going to be unable [to direct],' he said.
'Because if you're going to direct a film it's over a year
of your life and I didn't have that. So once I had finished with that series of
films I was free.
He often spoke about the importance he attached to his
craft, saying: 'Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of thereat, a
piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world
Alan Rickman was one of the best-loved and most warmly
admired British actors of the past 30 years.
The actor and director became a big screen name when he
appeared to huge critical acclaim as Hans Gruber, Bruce Willis’s sardonic
adversary, in Die Hard.
Throughout the illustrious career that followed, Rickman
transcended both the romantic and the villainous, starring as some of cinema's
best known baddies - including as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves - but also romantic, honorable characters such as Colonel
Brandon in Sense and Sensibility.
More recently, Rickman earned himself a new legion of fans
when he played Professor Snape in the Harry Potter film franchise.
The star had also completed another film set for release
later this year called Alice Through The Looking Glass.
Born in in Acton, London, in 1946 to a working class family,
Rickman attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design and the Royal College of
Art, before working as a graphic designer for the radical newspaper the Notting
Hill Herald.
With two friends, he opened a graphic design studio but,
three years later, he decided to pursue acting full time. He was awarded a
place at the prestigious RADA school in London, leaving in 1974.
In 1982, British television audiences came to know Alan
Rickman as the Reverend Obadiah Slope in the BBC's adaptation of Barchester
Towers, known as the Barchester Chronicles.
His career went on to include a wide variety of roles. In
1992, he was the 'master of ceremonies' on Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells
II album.
He played Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply before becoming
known to the younger generation as potions master Severus Snape in Harry
Potter.
Rickman also starred in the musical of Sweeney Todd: The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street and more recently in Love Actually, in which his
character Harry falls for his younger colleague Mia.
Last year at the Scottish premiere of A Little Chaos,
Rickman said he had no idea JK Rowling’s Harry Potter tale would stretch to six
novels and seven films when he took the role of Snape in 2001.
'I wasn’t free until now because I started doing Harry
Potter, and when I started there were only three books written so I didn’t know
I was going to be unable (to direct),' he said.
'Because if you’re going to direct a film it’s over a year
of your life and I didn’t have that.
“So once I had finished with that series of films I was
free, and then along came this wonderful script.'
Rickman was also viewed by many as a movie heart-throb and,
striking a blow for the more mature actor, he was ranked in seventh place in a
sexiest actor list by Total Film magazine in 2013 at the age of 66, beating
stars such as Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
In April 2012, he married Rima Horton, his partner of 50
years, whom he met when he 19.
The couple, who had been together since 1977, tied the knot
in a secret ceremony in New York, but only revealed the news years later.
In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, he was asked
what the secret to a successful relationship without getting married is and he
surprisingly replied: 'We are married. Just recently.
It was great, because no
one was there. After the wedding in New York we walked across the Brooklyn
Bridge and ate lunch.
Economist Rima was a Labour party councillor for the
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council from 1986 to 2006. They met when
she was 18.
In his spare time, Rickman - who was politically active -
supported many charities and was an active patron of the charity Saving Faces.
He was also an honorary president of the International
Performers' Aid Trust, a charity that alleviates poverty in some of the world's
toughest conditions.
When talking about politics, Rickman has said he 'was born a
card-carrying member of the Labour Party'.
Despite winning a host of awards, Rickman never won an
Oscar. Speaking about awards, he said in 2008: 'Parts win prizes, not actors.
More recently, he earned himself a new legion of fans when
he played Professor Snape in the Harry Potter film franchise.
Yet it was Rickman’s work on stage that established him as
such a compelling talent, and to which he returned throughout his career.
After graduating from RADA, he worked with the Royal
Shakespeare Company before a breakthrough in 1986 as Valmont, the mordant
seducer in Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangerous.
In 2002, he starred in Noel Coward’s Private Lives, which
transferred to Broadway after a successful run in London.
During his career, he won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe award, an
Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Born in in Acton, London, in 1946 to a working class family,
Rickman attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design and the Royal College of
Art, before working as a graphic designer for the radical newspaper the Notting
Hill Herald.
With two friends, he opened a graphic design studio but,
three years later, he decided to persue acting full time. He was awarded a
place at the prestigious RADA school in London, leaving in 1974.
In 1982, British
television audiences came to know Alan Rickman as the Reverend Obadiah Slope in
the BBC's adaptation of Barchester Towers, known as the Barchester Chronicles.
His career has been filled with a wide variety of roles. In
1992, he was the 'master of ceremonies' on Mike Oldfield's album Tubulur Bells
II albim,
He has played romantic leads like Colonel Brandon in Sense
and Sensibility, Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deepy and numerous villians in
Hollywood blockbusters, such as Hans Grubber in Die Hard and the Sheriff of
Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
He most recently played potions master Severus Snape in
Harry Potter.
In April 2012, Rickman married Rima Horton, his partner of
50 years, whom he met when he 19.
The couple, who had been together since 1977, tied the knot
in a secret ceremony in New York.
In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, he was asked
what the secret to a successful relationship without getting married is and he
surprisingly replied: 'We are married. Just recently.
It was great, because no
one was there. After the wedding in New York we walked across the Brooklyn
Bridge and ate lunch.
Economist Rima was a Labour party Councillor for the
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council from 1986 to 2006.
In his spare time, Rickman supported many charities and was
an active patron of the charity Saving Faces. He was also an honorary president
of the International Performers' Aid Trust, a charity that alleviates poverty
in some of the world's toughest conditions.
When talking about politics, Rickman has said he 'was born a
card-carrying member of the Labour Party'.
In 2014, he directed and starred as French King Louis XIV
alongside Kate Winslet in A Little Chaos. A Little Chaos was the star’s second
outing behind the camera, 18 years after he directed Emma Thompson in
Scotland-based drama The Winter Guest.
Yet it was Rickman’s work on stage that established him as
such a compelling talent, and to which he returned throughout his career.
After graduating from RADA, he worked with the Royal
Shakespeare Company across several stages, before getting his breakthrough in
1986 as Valmont in Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangerous.
In 2002, he starred in Noel Coward’s Private Lives, which
transferred to Broadway after a successful run in London.
During his career, he won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe award, an
Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
When he received a Bafta for his performance in Robin Hood,
he said: 'I'll take this as a healthy reminder that subtlety... isn't
everything.
Rickman's career is set to continue with the release of Eye
in the Sky - a thriller about drone warfare in which he stars alongside Helen
Mirren and Aaron Paul - in April.
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