Leslie Phillips, voice of Sorting Hat in ‘Harry Potter’ is dead

Leslie Phillips, the screen veteran best known for his roles in the Carry On franchise and the voice of the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter, is dead. 

The movie icon died at the age of 89 on Monday, November 7, after a long illness brought down the curtain on eight decades in show business.

Phillips’ agent told the BBC that the beloved actor died peacefully in his sleep Monday night. “I’ve lost a wonderful husband and the public has lost a truly great showman,” his wife, Zara Carr, told The Sun on Tuesday, November 8. 

Phillips voiced the Sorting Hat in three Harry Potter movies: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 (2011).

In the wake of his death, tributes have come pouring in for the British film icon, who starred in over 200 films, TV and radio series over his glittering career.

The comic actor’s wife Zara paid tribute to her late husband. “I’ve lost a wonderful husband and the public has lost a truly great showman,” the bereaved widow told the Sun. “He was quite simply a national treasure. People loved him. He was mobbed everywhere he went.”

Phillips is survived by his third wife, Zara Carr, and four children.