| General Non-Fiction posted July 30, 2022 |
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a tribute
The One & Only
by giraffmang
Okay, I wasn’t going to enter this competition because I have a deep, abiding distaste for Harry Potter and his ‘creator.' There is only a sliver of begrudging interest from me because of the movie adaptions. I, also, dislike those immensely but for one thing – Dumbledore.
Let me begin where my distaste festers from.
Harry Potter is a mishmash of other writers’ works. Even the term ‘muggle’ isn’t an original one (it dates back to the twenties in literature). But it’s more than the fact that so much was appropriated from other sources (Rowling only won those court cases because she has a legion of expensive lawyers). The whole mythology about her being on benefits whilst writing it and almost being destitute are nonsense.
In the UK, the average person on benefits can be in receipt of housing benefit and other monies which total up £30 – £40, 000 a year. She was a carer at the time so was entitled to a full range of benefit. It’s quite shocking that folk can earn that kind of money by not working….
The Harry Potter franchise only came about through sheer luck. The original run was only 500 copies which mainly went to libraries. The book became popular once it was banned by a Christian school, not before, which drove attention its way.
Moreover, it’s not exactly well-written. If you think it is, you should maybe pick up some Roald Dahl books for comparison… Someone bought me a copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ for my birthday and my distaste began there. I still have not read another Potter book.
But, anyway, back to the main thrust of this article.
In 2015, I was working as a domiciliary care worker (looking after folk in their homes) in Oxford, England. I had a range of clients, including a man who had suffered a stroke whose entire house was full of Harry Potter memorabilia. I mean packed full of it – and all of it was signed. It must have been worth a fortune.
As it turns out, Harry was more than just a regular kind of crazed fan. He actually appeared in every single Potter movie, either on camera or in photographs and portraits.
Who was he? You may well ask!
Harry was none other than Dumbledore in every movie (it's Harry in the picture at the top)! I know, now before anyone loses their biscuits, Richard Harris played Dumbledore in the first movie and Michael Gambon took over the character for the remaining films.
However, whenever you see a portrait, a long shot or a camera shot from over Dumbledore’s shoulder, it’s Harry.
Harry was excellent and regaled us with many tales from the set. He was also in Nanny McPhee, and an adaption of Nicholas Nickleby with Daniel Radcliffe.
He did his best to not let his stroke slow him down and still gave talks and appeared in character at functions around Oxford, and at Oxford university.
Harry, himself, had a remarkably interesting life. He served in the RAF in his earlier life, taking part in the Berlin Airlift of 1948. Harry, also, worked as a paramedic, where he treated the train driver of ‘The Great Train Robbery’ in 1963, before turning to acting in the early 1980s. He worked on British television in the likes of Inspector Morse and Lewis.
With Dumbledore, he was shortlisted for the main role before Michael Gambon was cast, given he had more than passing resemblance to original Dumbledore, Richard Harris.
The man I knew was funny, determined and very generous, who liked nothing more than milling about in the garden and potting shed when well enough.
Sadly, Harry passed away in 2018 at the age of eighty-seven.
But, thanks to Harry Potter, Harry will live on for quite some time to come.
R.I.P. Harry Robertson – the one true Dumbledore.
Harry Potter's Birthday 2022 contest entry
Okay, I wasn’t going to enter this competition because I have a deep, abiding distaste for Harry Potter and his ‘creator.' There is only a sliver of begrudging interest from me because of the movie adaptions. I, also, dislike those immensely but for one thing – Dumbledore.
Let me begin where my distaste festers from.
Harry Potter is a mishmash of other writers’ works. Even the term ‘muggle’ isn’t an original one (it dates back to the twenties in literature). But it’s more than the fact that so much was appropriated from other sources (Rowling only won those court cases because she has a legion of expensive lawyers). The whole mythology about her being on benefits whilst writing it and almost being destitute are nonsense.
In the UK, the average person on benefits can be in receipt of housing benefit and other monies which total up £30 – £40, 000 a year. She was a carer at the time so was entitled to a full range of benefit. It’s quite shocking that folk can earn that kind of money by not working….
The Harry Potter franchise only came about through sheer luck. The original run was only 500 copies which mainly went to libraries. The book became popular once it was banned by a Christian school, not before, which drove attention its way.
Moreover, it’s not exactly well-written. If you think it is, you should maybe pick up some Roald Dahl books for comparison… Someone bought me a copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ for my birthday and my distaste began there. I still have not read another Potter book.
But, anyway, back to the main thrust of this article.
In 2015, I was working as a domiciliary care worker (looking after folk in their homes) in Oxford, England. I had a range of clients, including a man who had suffered a stroke whose entire house was full of Harry Potter memorabilia. I mean packed full of it – and all of it was signed. It must have been worth a fortune.
As it turns out, Harry was more than just a regular kind of crazed fan. He actually appeared in every single Potter movie, either on camera or in photographs and portraits.
Who was he? You may well ask!
Harry was none other than Dumbledore in every movie (it's Harry in the picture at the top)! I know, now before anyone loses their biscuits, Richard Harris played Dumbledore in the first movie and Michael Gambon took over the character for the remaining films.
However, whenever you see a portrait, a long shot or a camera shot from over Dumbledore’s shoulder, it’s Harry.
Harry was excellent and regaled us with many tales from the set. He was also in Nanny McPhee, and an adaption of Nicholas Nickleby with Daniel Radcliffe.
He did his best to not let his stroke slow him down and still gave talks and appeared in character at functions around Oxford, and at Oxford university.
Harry, himself, had a remarkably interesting life. He served in the RAF in his earlier life, taking part in the Berlin Airlift of 1948. Harry, also, worked as a paramedic, where he treated the train driver of ‘The Great Train Robbery’ in 1963, before turning to acting in the early 1980s. He worked on British television in the likes of Inspector Morse and Lewis.
With Dumbledore, he was shortlisted for the main role before Michael Gambon was cast, given he had more than passing resemblance to original Dumbledore, Richard Harris.
The man I knew was funny, determined and very generous, who liked nothing more than milling about in the garden and potting shed when well enough.
Sadly, Harry passed away in 2018 at the age of eighty-seven.
But, thanks to Harry Potter, Harry will live on for quite some time to come.
R.I.P. Harry Robertson – the one true Dumbledore.
 Recognized |
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I was 'encouraged' to enter. Be careful what you wish for.
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one point
and 2 member cents. 
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