Richard Harris and Jamie and by a niece, Annabelle. He had fallen into a coma in his final three days. Harris' body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Bahamas, where he had owned a home. Harris was a lifelong friend of actor Peter O'Toole, and his family reportedly hoped that O'Toole would replace Harris as Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". There were, however, worries of insuring O'Toole for the six remaining films in the series. Harris was ultimately replaced as Dumbledore by the Irish-born actor Michael Gambon. On 30 September 2006, Manuel Di Lucia, of
Harry Potter Gilliam, Jonathan Demme, and Alan Parker were considered, Chris Columbus was appointed on 28 March 2000 as the director for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (titled ""Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"" in the United States), with Warner Bros. citing his work on other family films such as "Home Alone" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" and proven experience with directing children as influences for their decision. After extensive casting, filming began in October 2000 at Leavesden Film Studios and in London itself, with production ending in July 2001. "Philosopher's Stone" was released on 14 November 2001. Just three days after the