ALAN RICKMAN DIES....

No indication British film and theatre actor - famous for roles in Harry Potter and Die Hard - was seriously ill before Christmas, friends say One said there had been no indication the star, who had appeared at first nights and charity events last month, was seriously ill before Christmas.

Rickman died on Thursday morning aged 69, having said a final goodbye to his friends and family after a short battle with cancer.To the younger generation he will always be Severus Snape, the deliciously villainous teacher who appears bent on making the hero's life a misery in the Harry Potter films. Others will remember him from movies as varied as Die Hard and Truly, Madly, Deeply or for his distinguished stage career.

Luminaries of film and theatre paid tribute to the actor, who stars in two films out later this year.

Emma Thompson, a close friend who worked with him on Love Actually and Sense and Sensibility, said she had "kissed him goodbye" and spoke of a "moment of painful leave-taking".

Juliet Stevenson, his co-star in Truly, Madly, Deeply, said she had seen him for the last time on Wednesday.

Some of Alan Rickman's characters  Photo: Rex

Other tributes came from J K Rowling, the Harry Potter author, and the cast of the films, as well as politicians and actors from around the world.

Rickman trained at Rada, worked with the RSC and won a series of awards including a Bafta and a Golden Globe. He leaves his wife, Rima Horton, an arts patron and former Labour councillor.
They met when he was 19 and had lived together for 35 years before marrying secretly in 2012