John Cleese ‘disoriented’ after death of Michael Gambon

John Cleese has said he is “disoriented” following the death of Sir Michael Gambon. The Fawlty Towers favourite took to Twitter, now known as X, to speak out after the acting legend died in hospital aged 82. The 83-year-old spoke out in view of his 5.6 million followers, branding the Harry Potter star “so special”. He said his heart had “jerked” on hearing the tragic news before recalling a conversation they’d had that had left him “delighted”. John was soon inundated with comments, with users agreeing with his sentiment on the four-time BAFTA winner. “My heart gave a jerk when I heard about Michael Gambon,” the Monty Python star wrote. “He was so special. He could act anything, Farce, Ayckbourn, The Singing Detective, LBJ…” John continued: “He once delighted me by saying that comedy was much harder to act than drama. “I feel disoriented when the greats go missing.” One fan replied: “Unfortunately, that’s because they’re not making any new ones John.” A second stated: “Glad someone mentioned his performance as President Lyndon B. Johnson in Path to War. “As a young man watching that, Gambon, via her performance, managed to make me truly believe he was the 36th President of the United States.”(sic) A third said: “His ability was to make his audience so believe he really was the character he was portraying.” Dublin-born Sir Michael is known for his extensive back catalogue of work across TV, film, radio and theatre over a career spanning five decades. In recent years he played Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films. A statement issued on behalf of Lady Gambon and son Fergus Gambon said: “We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. “Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia.” He was knighted for his contribution to the entertainment industry in 1998.