Shaftesbury Avenue Lights Will Be Dimmed Tonight in Honor of Richard Griffiths

The lights on Shaftesbury Avenue will be dimmed tonight from 7:28 to 7:30pm to honor the late Richard Griffiths, who passed March 28 at age 65.

The actor was best known for his portrayal of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter film franchise and as Unchle Monty in 'Withnail and I.'

Griffiths was appointed an OBE in the 2008 New Year Honors. He received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, all for his role in the play The History Boys. He most recently appeared on the stage opposite Danny DeVito in The Sunshine Boys.

His other film roles included Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky, and King George II in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as well as in Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning 1982 film Gandhi portraying the role of a British journalist.