Darick Earney
Associate Editor
“Harry Potter” star and stage actor Alan Rickman passed away on January 14, after a long battle with Pancreatic cancer.
The late actor has no children, but is survived by his wife, Rima Horton, who he had been with for more than 50 years.
Throughout his career, Rickman had been known for various on-screen roles including the villainous Hans Gruber in “Die Hard,” Metatron, the archangel in “Dogma,” and most popularly, Professor Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” film franchise.
“There is no doubt that Alan Rickman will be remembered to most casual moviegoers as the venerable Professor Snape,” Art of Film Professor, Jim Price said, “But what few realize is the incredible range that this actor had. He was a real student and fan of anything that was written by Jane Austen and his work in many literary adaptations will be remembered long after his passing.”
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was born the second of four children on February 21, 1946, to parents Bernard and Margaret Doreen Rose Rickman in West Long, England.
Growing up, the future star performed in several plays all throughout grade school and continued acting while studying graphic design in college before meeting his lifelong lover, Rima Horton, who he did not officially marry until 2012.
After working in various stage productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company in England, and radio dramas for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Rickman’s film career launched in 1988 with his debut film “Die Hard.”
Following the critical success of “Die Hard” was his role as the Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” in 1991.
Aside from playing ‘bad guy’ roles, Rickman shown audiences his inner loverboy with the screen adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” as well as his comic wit in “Galaxy Quest.”
However, it wasn’t until the 2001 film adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” that he saw breakthrough success and became a household name:
“Rickman played a number of characters over the course of his life and career, but to me, he has always been and will always be Severus Snape,” Harry Potter fan, Laura Inlow said. “Over the course of seven books and eight movies, Professor Snape taught fans, many of whom grew up with the Harry Potter saga, that a person’s true character goes ways beyond what you can see on the surface, or even experience from a few encounters. It really goes without saying that the fan community and the acting community have lost a true gem.”
Days after his death, fans of Alan Rickman gathered together at the Nine and Three-Quarters Platform replica at the King’s Cross Railway Station in London to pay their respects.
Even though he never had any children of his own, Alan Rickman will be remembered and loved by family, friends, and his adoring fans, always.
