Jared Harris has recalled his late father Richard Harris’ final fight at a pub in central London – revealing the acting legend “sucker-punched” a man before reviving him by throwing a pint of Guinness in his face.
Richard Harris “sucker-punched” a man in a London pub and then revived him by throwing a pint of Guinness in his face.
The late actor’s son Jared Harris has recalled his famous father’s final fight before his death in 2002 aged 72 revealing the Harry Potter star became embroiled in a bust-up with a couple at the Coach and Horses boozer in Covent Garden and it ended with the screen star fleeing in a taxi.
Jared told the Guardian newspaper: “I used to go and have a drink with my dad at the Coach and Horses at the back of Covent Garden. They have really good Guinness.
“It’s also the place where my father had his last fight. It was summer. He was sitting outside having a pint.”
Jared explained the actor started chatting to a woman but then “lost his patience” with the actor telling her: “I can forgive many things. I can forgive ignorance, because that’s not your fault. That’s the fault of your education.
“I can forgive bad manners. Again, not your fault if your parents just didn’t bring you up properly. But the one thing I cannot forgive is ugliness, and you’re the ugliest woman I’ve ever seen in my life. Now f*** off.”
Jared revealed the woman went inside the pub and brought out her boyfriend, who then started chastising Richard for calling her “ugly”.
The Mad Men star went on to say: “She goes inside, gets her boyfriend, who comes out and says: ‘You called my girlfriend ugly. Stand up if you’re a man.’
“So dad sucker-punched him and knocked him out.
“He was on the floor, cracked his head, and the girl started jumping up and down, going: ‘Dickie Harris has killed me boyfriend! Dickie Harris has killed me boyfriend!'”
The Hollywood hell-raiser then revived the man by throwing his drink over him and then fled the scene in a taxi.
Jared said: “Dad wasn’t sure what had happened, so he grabbed his Guinness and chucked it in the guy’s face, which brought him round immediately. But he was a big boy and Dad knew that he wasn’t going to win round two, so he leapt into a taxi and took off.”
Jared Harris recalls Richard Harris’ final fight
