Harry Potter fans have lost a treasured voice. British actor Leslie Phillips has died at age 98.
The musician died quietly in his sleep on Monday, his representative confirmed to various news sites.
Phillips became a recognizable voice as the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films during a career spanning more than seven decades in radio, TV, and film, bringing the animated object to life in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
The latter was one of his final jobs, however he will feature in the forthcoming film Darkheart Manor posthumously.
He has starred in numerous Carry On films for the British studio. In 2007, he was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Venus. In 1998, he was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire, and in 2008, he was elevated to Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
“I’ve lost a wonderful husband and the public has lost a truly great showman,” his third wife, Zara Carr, told The Sun. “He was quite simply a national treasure. People loved him. He was mobbed everywhere he went.”