Cornelius Fudge in ‘Harry Potter’ movies
ROBERT HARDY, 1925 - 2017
Robert Hardy, a veteran British stage and screen actor who played Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge in the “Harry Potter” movies, has died. He was 91.
His family said Hardy died in London on Thursday.
Born in 1925, Hardy began his career in Shakespearean roles onstage in Stratford-upon-Avon in the years after World War II.
He played avuncular veterinarian Siegfried Farnon in the TV drama “All Creatures Great and Small” between 1978 and 1990, and portrayed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill onscreen half a dozen times.
In a statement Thursday, Hardy’s family said he was also “a meticulous linguist, a fine artist, a lover of music and a champion of literature, as well a highly respected historian, and a leading specialist on the longbow.”
They said he was also part of the team that raised Tudor warship the Mary Rose, which sank off England’s south coast in 1545.
“Gruff, elegant, twinkly, and always dignified, he is celebrated by all who knew him and loved him, and everyone who enjoyed his work,” the family said.
Hardy is survived by his children Paul, Justine and Emma.