British Actor Robert Hardy haspassed awayat the age of 91. Hardy was arguably best know for playing Cornelius Fudge in theHarry Pottermovies, but had a career that spanned 70 years on stage and screen. The actor spent his final weeks at Denville Hall, which is a retirement home for actors in London, England. Hardy’s children praised the level of care that he was given at the home in his final days.
The U.K.‘sDaily Mailreports that Robert Hardy died via a statement released from Hardy’s family. Hardy’s children Emma, Justine, and Paul described their father’s life as “tremendous” while saying, “Gruff, elegant, twinkly, and always dignified, he is celebrated by all who knew him and loved him, and everyone who enjoyed his work.” Hardy’s instantly recognizable voice and British manner earned him a career that lasted for over 70 years. Another one of his best-known roles was in the BBC’sAll Creatures Great and Smallas the irascible vet Siegfried Farnon. By the time of his start onAll Creatures Great and Small, thelate actorwas already known as a versatile, veteran actor in England.
Robert Hardy’s early years as an actor were at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and it’s there where he found a life-long interest in the longbow while playing Henry V. Hardy even went as far as to write two published books on the longbow in addition to his passion of acting. He acted alongside Laurence Olivier inCoriolanusand later went on to television roles, including the long runningAll Creatures Great and Small. Hardy played Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt on more than one occasion. He won a BAFTA Award for his role as Churchill inWinston Churchill: The Wilderness Yearsin 1981. In fact, Hardy was set to play Churchill again at the age of 87 for a stage production, but had to pull out due to injury. The actor is the secondHarry Potterstar to pass away this year, following the January passing ofJohn Hurt.
But it is arguably Hardy’s role as Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge that thebeloved actoris best known for. He was in 4 of theHarry Pottermovies includingThe Chamber of Secrets,The Goblet of Fire,The Order of the Phoenix, andThe Prisoner of Azkaban. Hardy had said, “it was great fun while it lasted, the boys and girls were all absolutely splendid.” The actor went on to say, “Thanks to those films I get the most extraordinary amount of fan mail from all over the world, even China.”
Robert Hardyeven studied underChronicles of Narniaauthor C.S. Lewis andLord of the Ringsauthor J.R.R. Tolkien while earning his degree at Oxford, a degree, which he later referred to as “shabby.” Hardy’s children said, “Dad is remembered as a meticulous linguist, a fine artist, a lover of music, and a champion of literature, as well as a highly respected historian, and a leading specialist on the longbow.” Robert Hardy seemed to do just about everything he ever wanted to do and on his own terms. The actor issurvived byhis children Emma Hardy, Paul Hardy and Justine Hardy.
