David Ryall, English movie and theater actor, best known to the wide public for his part as Elphias Doge in the Harry Potter universe or his great roles in television, passed away at the age of 79. Although no other details regarding his unfortunate death were officially shared, the cause of his passing being unraveled, sources confirm that that the artist died on Christmas day.
The daughter of the regretted David Ryall, actress Charlie Ryall, confirmed the news through a Twitter post, written in the memory of the artist: ‘’Please take a moment to remember his huge five-decade-spanning career outside of the more well-known TV & film. Not just Harry Potter.’’ The Harry Potter remark might be judged by some in the public, considering the fact that his part in the magical franchise made him famous to a larger lot of cinema-goers (especially youngsters), but what the tweet implies is that David Ryall should be remembered for his overall contribution and his great artistic personality. Another cinematographic figure to share his homages was Sherlock and Doctor Who writer (and actor) Mark Gatiss: ‘’The great David Ryall left us on Christmas Day. A twinkling, brilliant, wonderful actor I was privileged to call a friend. RIP.’’
The influence of David Ryall in the cinematographic industry and on theater stages spans a great period of 50 years and encompasses a vast portfolio of roles. A scan of his filmography will reveal that the actor was most and foremost a television series man, although his parts did not only resort to that segment. His earlier roles pertained to series like Once Upon a Time (1973), The Fortunes of Nigel (1974), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), or Love for Lydia (1977). After the year 2000, David Ryall acted in TV series like In Deep (2003), Heartbeat (2004), Doctors (2002-2010) or the more recent Outnumbered (2007-2011).
Year 2010 marked David Ryall’s apparition in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as Elphias Doge, replacing Peter Cartwright, who played the part in 2007 for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Apart from being a Ministry of Magic jurist and an Order of the Phoenix member, Doge was also a close friend of Albus Dumbledore, BBC News recalls. Although his part in the Harry Potter franchise might seem episodic in comparison to his live-spanning roles in television series, Elphias Doge revived the image of David Ryall and introduced him to a vast public.
The last years of David Ryall’s career involved him in projects like TV Series The Village (2013-2014) or the Sci/Fi-thriller Autómata (2014) in which he played the part of Dominic Hawk. Before joining on-screen productions, Ryall was an avid on-stage actor. In his first years as performer, he joined Laurence Olivier’s company with the National Theatre and thus his name became affiliated to numerous well-known plays.