News
‘Van Helsing’ and ‘Harry Potter’ Actor Robbie Coltrane Has Passed Away
We’ve learned the very sad news today that veteran Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, best known for his role in the Harry Potter movies, has passed away this week at the age of 72.
Deadline reports that Coltrane “passed away in hospital near his home in Larbert, Scotland. The award-winning actor had been in ill health for the past two years.”
Robbie Coltrane became beloved to Harry Potter fans around the world thanks to his role as the lovable Rubeus Hagrid in the hugely successful live action film franchise, a role he first played in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and continued to play straight through to the final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011.
Outside the world of Harry Potter, Robbie Coltrane amassed well over 100 additional film and television credits dating back to 1979, with notable projects including Krull (1983), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Henry V (1989), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), GoldenEye (1995), Alice in Wonderland (1999), From Hell (2001), Van Helsing (2004), Ocean’s Twelve (2004), The Brothers Bloom (2008), Arthur Christmas (2011), and Brave (2012).
Deadline recalls, “Coltrane was born Anthony Robert McMillan in Rutherglen, Scotland in 1950. He took the stage name Coltrane in his early 20s in tribute to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane and broke through in Byrne’s theater production of The Slab Boys.
“Early film roles included Flash Gordon and Mona Lisa before he appeared on the small screen in Tutti Frutti then Blackadder the Third.”
Robbie Coltrane is survived by two children.
Thank you Robbie Coltrane for leaving us with Hagrid forever, you were a treasure.
RIP 🖤 pic.twitter.com/Lo1PbWnBpj— Ren Geekness @ LFF (@RenGeekness) October 14, 2022
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.