Fans of the Harry Potter saga paid tribute to Alan Rickman

AFP , Saturday 16 Jan 2016

Rickman is the second major British cultural figure aged 69 to die this week following a private battle with cancer after rock icon David Bowie's death on Monday

Tributes to British actor Alan Rickman
Tributes to British actor Alan Rickman King's Cross station in London, Britain January 15, 2016 (photo: AFP)

Fans of the Harry Potter saga paid tribute Friday to the late actor Alan Rickman at the mythical platform 9 3/4 at London's King's Cross station. Rickman, who died of cancer on Thursday, aged 69, gained legions of young fans with his portrayal of the morally ambiguous teacher Severus Snape in all eight "Harry Potter" films from 2001 to 2011.

Platform 9 3/4 is where Potter departed for Hogwarts via the Hogwarts Express, and is marked by a permanent installation at Kings Cross, comprising a trolley complete with luggage and birdcage disappearing into a wall.

One letter left among the flowers at King's Cross reflected how Rickman had made the character his own."Dear Alan, I was so shocked to hear of your death," it read.
"I feel like a great light has gone out of the world. You have always been part of me for my childhood. You have understood and loved Severus more than any of us and a part of him dies with you."

Potter's creator J. K. Rowling has said she was "shocked and devastated" by Rickman's death, adding that he was "a magnificent actor and a wonderful man".

Daniel Radcliffe, who played Potter, said Rickman was "one of the greatest actors I will ever work with... and one of the loyalist and most supportive people I've ever met."

Winfield added: "Severus Snape is Alan Rickman and Alan Rickman is Severus Snape. I don't think anyone else could fill his shoes."

Rickman is the second major British cultural figure aged 69 to die this week following a private battle with cancer after rock icon David Bowie's death on Monday.

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