NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Alan Rickman dies at age 69

LONDON

British actor Alan Rickman, a classically trained stage star and sensual screen villain in the “Harry Potter” saga and other films, has died. He was 69.

Rickman’s family said that the actor died early Thursday in London after a battle with cancer.

Daniel Radcliffe, who played opposite Rickman in eight “Harry Potter” films, said Rickman was “undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with.”

Born to a working-class London family in 1946 and trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Rickman often was cast as the bad guy; with his rich, languid voice he could invest evil with wicked, irresistible relish.

Film roles included Hans Gruber, the psychopathic villain who tormented Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” in 1988; a deceased lover who consoles his bereaved partner in 1990’s “Truly Madly Deeply”; the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” in 1991; and a wayward husband in the 2003 romantic comedy “Love Actually.”

Millions know him from the “Potter” films, in which he played Hogwarts teacher Severus Snape, who was either a nemesis or an ally – possibly both – to the titular teenage wizard.

Rickman is due to appear in two yet-to-be-released films: “Eye in the Sky,” with Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul; and the animated “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” in which he voices the Blue Caterpillar.

Associated Press