'Harry Potter' actor David Ryall dead at 79

David Ryall, known on this side of the pond as Elphias Doge in the Harry Potter series, died on Christmas Day.


His daughter took to Twitter with the news, reminding us that his life's work was not solely from Harry Potter.

According to the BBC, Ryall began his career with a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1962. After that Ryall joined Laurence Olivier's company with the National Theatre at the Old Vic from 1965–1973. His work at the National Theatre icluded Guys and Dolls, The Beggar's Opera and Animal Farm, Coriolanus, The School of Wives, and Democracy and The UN Inspector.

He also worked in television performing as Sir Bruce Bullerby in Andrew Davies’s version of House of Cards and played a dementia-stricken grandfather in the BBC sitcom Outnumbered.

Also on his list of accomplishments is having played Winston Churchill in three different productions - Two Men Went to War (2002), Bertie and Elizabeth (2002) and De Gaulle (2006).

Ryall is survived by his son Jonathan Ryall, and daughters, Imogen Ryall and Charlie Ryall. All his children are in the business of entertainment.

Image courtesy of Harry Potter World via Twitter

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on your website.

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.