--- ---  # Fans Pay Tribute to Alan Rickman by 'Raising Their Wands'  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 14, 2016 3:37 PM UTC  Actor Alan Rickman attends AOL Build Speaker Series Presents: Alan Rickman at AOL Studios In New York on June 19, 2015 in New York City. Actor Alan Rickman attends AOL Build Speaker Series Presents: Alan Rickman at AOL Studios In New York on June 19, 2015 in New York City.Desiree Navarro/WireImage  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 14, 2016 3:37 PM UTC The world is mourning the death of [Alan Rickman](http://time.com/4180396/alan-rickman-a-career-in-pictures/), who passed away at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer. The beloved British actor was especially well known in recent years for his role as Severus Snape in the [_Harry Potter_ films](http://time.com/3667986/harry-potter-oscars/), and tributes began pouring in from fans of the series across the globe after the news was announced Thursday. **Read More:** [British Actor Alan Rickman Has Died at 69](http://time.com/4180354/alan-rickman-dead/) Many have used Twitter to pay homage to Rickman by “raising their wands,” a reference to a touching scene in [_Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_](http://time.com/3980211/harry-potter-quotes-amazon/)when Hogwarts students point their wands to the sky to honor the fallen Dumbledore. > [](https://twitter.com/johnlawhononair/status/687642167150522368) > [](https://twitter.com/AnnCampea/status/687637922443468801) > [](https://twitter.com/221Rants/status/687633590897754112) > [](https://twitter.com/StePadilla21/status/582362153761423360) > [](https://twitter.com/ItsNicXx/status/687640524229062656) > [](https://twitter.com/FrancisCayomba/status/687623481333161984) > [](https://twitter.com/pasticheniall/status/687627193392865280) > [](https://twitter.com/brkenkiss/status/687638687249776640) > [](https://twitter.com/HarryPotterings/status/687633280171114497) ### Alan Rickman: A Career in Pictures  Die Hard, 1988. 20th Century Fox  Truly, Madly, Deeply, 1990. BBC Films  Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991. Warner Bros.  Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, 1996. Getty Images  Dogma, 1999. Lionsgate  Galaxy Quest, 1999. DreamWorks Pictures  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 2001. Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  Love Actually, 2003. Universal Pictures  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007. DreamWorks Pictures  The Butler, 2013. The Weinstein Company Alan Rickman Dead: Fans Pay Tribute by 'Raising Their Wands' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4180498/alan-rickman-tribute-raise-your-wands/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4180498/alan-rickman-tribute-raise-your-wands/"},"headline":"Fans Pay Tribute to Alan Rickman by 'Raising Their Wands'","datePublished":"2016-01-14T15:37:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:43.672Z","description":"\"Wands up\"","url":"https://time.com/4180498/alan-rickman-tribute-raise-your-wands/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","celebrities","Harry Potter","Actors"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8385edc9b309ce9/698879170b72e3e20a6e7a93/alan-rickman-raise-your-wands.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8385edc9b309ce9/698879170b72e3e20a6e7a93/alan-rickman-raise-your-wands.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AOL Build Speaker Series Presents: Alan Rickman","caption":"Actor Alan Rickman attends AOL Build Speaker Series Presents: Alan Rickman at AOL Studios In New York on June 19, 2015 in New York City.","creditText":"Desiree Navarro/WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4180498/alan-rickman-tribute-raise-your-wands/","name":"Fans Pay Tribute to Alan Rickman by 'Raising Their Wands'"}}]}] ```