Gambon mourns death of playwright Pinter

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LONDON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Irish actor Michael Gambon has called British playwright Harold Pinter, who died of cancer this week, a "god" for actors.

Pinter penned dozens of plays including "The Caretaker" and "The Birthday Party," as well as scripts for the films "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "Sleuth." He died Wednesday at the age of 78.

Gambon, who is best known for playing Albus Dumbledore in the three most recent "Harry Potter" films, has appeared in numerous Pinter plays throughout his career. He is scheduled to star in a new production of the scribe's "No Man's Land" in London Friday, the BBC said.

"He was our God, Harold Pinter, for actors," Gambon told The Guardian newspaper in London. "He was the man who wrote the plays you wanted to be in."

The BBC quoted Pinter's wife, author Antonia Fraser, as saying, "He was a great and it was a privilege to live with him for over 33 years."