Google has dedicated its latest Doodle to English actor Alan Rickman, who died in 2016 at age 69 after a battle with cancer. Known for his deep and languid voice, Rickman was remembered on Sunday on the 36th anniversary of his performance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liasons), a Broadway play that was instrumental in launching his career in 1987.
Rickman's breakout role as scheming French aristocrat, the Vicomte de Valmont, earned him a Tony nomination and he began receiving offers to act in films soon after.
Artist Helene Leroux, who drew the Google Doodle, said it was a "privilege to honour" Rickman's life and career in the image, which shows him raising his eyebrows and surrounded by leaves.
"I wanted to illustrate Alan's passion for creativity — represented in the soft watercolours of the background in reference to some of Alan's most beautiful artwork," she told PA Wire.
"Following his death, Alan's popular autobiographical diaries also captured the nation's attention; these candid and entertaining reflections are represented by the fine, fountain-pen like scratches layered on a background resembling white lined paper.
"The branches either side of the Doodle are also inspired by his diary scribbles. His diverting on-screen performances have no doubt left a unique and lasting imprint on British culture, and I am thrilled that it lives on via my doodle today."
A product of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Rickman was often cast as the bad guy; and gained popularity for his ability to play evil characters with wicked, irresistible relish.
In 1988, Rickman starred as criminal mastermind Hans Gruber in the film Die Hard, now considered one of the most popular villains in cinematic history. The film’s success led to him playing similar antagonist roles in films such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. His career trajectory continued throughout the 1990s with roles in Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), the latter of which earned him an Emmy and Golden Globe Award.
In 2001, the actor took on the role of scene-stealing Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. His intimidating, scary and captivating performance also lead to him starring in the following seven Harry Potter films and becoming an international sensation.
Over the course of his career, Rickman received numerous acting nominations and awards and even directed three plays and two films. Besides his on-screen and stage work, he's also remembered for his philanthropy, as well as his kind and sensitive nature off-screen.
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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Company%20profile
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
