Robert H. Harris

Robert H. Harris (born Robert H. Hurwitz; July 15, 1911 – November 30, 1981) was an American character actor.

Robert H. Harris
As Jake Goldberg, 1954.
Born	Robert H. Hurwitz July 15, 1911 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	November 30, 1981 (aged 70) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Robert Harris
Years active	1950–1977
Spouse(s)	Louise Lewis Viola Harris (?–1981)

Stage

A veteran of the Yiddish Art Theater from his teens,[1] Harris made his first Broadway appearance in 1937 in Schoolhouse on the Lot. His other Broadway credits include Xmas in Las Vegas (1965), Minor Miracle (1965), Foxy (1963), Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1947) and Brooklyn, U.S.A. (1941).[2]

In 1952, Harris was the managing director of the Woodstock Playhouse in Woodstock, New York. Prior to that, he had directed repertory theater in Boston and Hollywood.[3]

Television

From 1950 on, he appeared extensively on television series, specializing in playing shady, if not outright evil, characters. From 1953–1956 he played Jake Goldberg in The Goldbergs, one of his few sympathetic roles. (His obituary distributed via United Press International says that he played the role of Jake Goldberg in 1953-1954.)[1] In 1957, Harris played the lead role in The Court of Last Resort.

He also made many guest appearances in many other TV series. These include eight appearances in Alfred Hitchcock Presents between 1956 and 1961 and seven appearances in Perry Mason between 1958 and 1965 including in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Dodging Domino". Among his seven appearances, he played the murderer three times, the murder victim once, and the defendant once. He also appeared in other television series such as Peter Gunn, 77 Sunset Strip, Ben Casey, The Asphalt Jungle, and Rawhide. Robert H. Harris also appeared in the first season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "Twenty Million Alibis"(May 6, 1973).

Film

He starred in the 1958 B-movie horror film How to Make a Monster and had notable appearances as a rich cuckold in Elia Kazan's 1963 film America America, and Edward Dmytryk's 1965 film Mirage, as the obsessive-compulsive consulting psychiatrist. His other film credits included roles in Bundle of Joy (1956), The Invisible Boy (1957), Peyton Place (1957), The George Raft Story (1961), Apache Uprising (1965), Valley of the Dolls (1967), How Awful About Allan (1970), The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) and The Man in the Glass Booth (1975).

Personal life

Harris and his wife, actress Viola Harris, had a son, Steven Lee.[3]

Death

Harris died November 30, 1981, and was buried December 3, 1981. He was survived by his wife, Viola Harris, a son, a daughter, a brother and two sisters.[1]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	The Naked City	Druggist	Uncredited
1956	Bundle of Joy	Mr. Hargraves
1957	The Big Caper	Zimmer
1957	The Invisible Boy	Prof. Frank Allerton
1957	No Down Payment	Markham
1957	Peyton Place	Seth Bushwell
1958	How to Make a Monster	Pete Dumond
1961	Operation Eichmann	Minor Role	Uncredited
1961	Twenty Plus Two	Stanley	Uncredited
1961	The George Raft Story	Harvey
1961	The Lawbreakers	Joe Selkin
1962	Convicts 4	Commissioner
1963	America America	Aratoon Kebabian
1964	Nightmare in Chicago	Officer Newman
1965	Mirage	Dr. Augustus J. Broden
1965	Apache Uprising	Hoyt Taylor
1967	Valley of the Dolls	Henry Bellamy
1970	How Awful About Allan	Dr. Ellins	TV movie
1972	The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid	Wilcox
1975	The Man in the Glass Booth	Dr. Weisburger

Series in detail

Appearances in Alfred Hitchcock Presents

• "Mr. Fox" in episode: Shopping for Death, first broadcast on January 29, 1956 (episode # 1.18).
• "Laurence Appleby" in episode: The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby, first broadcast on April 15, 1956 (episode # 1.29).
• "John Hurley" in episode: The Hidden Thing, first broadcast on May 20, 1956 (episode # 1.34).
• "Albert Birch" in episode: Toby, first broadcast on November 4, 1956 (episode # 2.6).
• "LaFontaine" in episode: The Dangerous People, first broadcast on June 23, 1957 (episode # 2.39).
• "George Piper" in episode: The Safe Place, first broadcast on June 8, 1958 (episode # 3.36).
• "Ben Prowdy" in episode: Graduating Class, first broadcast on December 27, 1959 (episode # 5.14).
• "Morty Lenton" in episode: The Greatest Monster of Them All, first broadcast on February 14, 1961 (episode # 6.18).

Appearances in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

• "Dr. Perrigan" in episode: Consider Her Ways, first broadcast on December 28, 1964 (episode # 3.11).

Appearance in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

• "Dr. Eric Carlton" in episode "The Sky Is Falling (1966)"

Appearances in Perry Mason

• "Edmund Lacey" in episode: The Case of the Lonely Heiress, first broadcast on February 1, 1958 (episode # 1.20).
• "Aaron Hubble" in episode: The Case of "The Purple Woman", first broadcast on December 6, 1958 (episode # 2.9).
• "Gordon Russell" in episode: The Case of the Slandered Submarine, first broadcast on May 14, 1960 (episode # 3.23).
• "Claude Demay" in episode: The Case of the Torrid Tapestry first broadcast on April 22, 1961 (episode # 4.23).
• "Jerry Janda" in episode: The Case of the Dodging Domino first broadcast on November 1, 1962 (episode # 5.8).
• "Harry Bronson" in episode: The Case of the Frustrated Folksinger, first broadcast on January 7, 1965 (episode # 8.15).
• "Marty Webb" in episode: The Case of the Runaway Racer, first broadcast on November 14, 1965 (episode # 9.10).

Appearances in Gunsmoke

• "Ben Pitcher" in episode: Cow Doctor, first broadcast on September 8, 1956 (episode # 2.1).
• "Fred Myers" in episode: Kick Me, first broadcast on January 26, 1957 (episode # 2.18).

Appearances in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

• "Dr. Janos Hrandy" in episode: The Love Affair, first broadcast on March 29, 1965 (episode # 1.26).
• "Mark Ole" in episode: The Pop Art Affair, first broadcast on October 7, 1966 (episode # 3.6).

Appearances in The Untouchables

• "Phil Corbin" in episode: Kiss of Death Girl, first broadcast on December 8, 1960 (episode # 3.6).

Appearances in Suspense

• episode: Escape This Night, first broadcast on February 7, 1950 (episode # 2.23).
• episode: Dark Shadows, first broadcast on September 19, 1950 (episode # 3.4).
• episode: Night Drive, first broadcast on February 26, 1952 (episode # 4.24).

Appearances in Climax!

• episode: Flight 951, first broadcast on April 21, 1955 (episode # 1.22).
• appearing as Robert Harris playing "Porfear" in episode: No Right to Kill, first broadcast on August 9, 1956 (episode # 2.42).
• episode: The Secret of the Red Room first broadcast on September 12, 1957 (episode # 3.44).

Appearances in Bonanza

• Jacob J. Dormann in episode: "The Legacy", first broadcast on December 15, 1963 (episode # 5.11).

References

1. "Actor Robert Harris dead at 70". The Galveston Daily News. Texas, Galveston. United Press International. December 4, 1981. p. 14. Retrieved November 8, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "("Robert H. Harris" search results)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
3. "TV Actor Is New Playhouse Head". The Kingston Daily Freeman. New York, Kingston. April 28, 1952. p. 11. Retrieved November 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

4. Demetria Fulton previewed Robert H. Harris' appearance in the first season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "Twenty Million Alibis"(May 6, 1973).

External links

• Robert H. Harris at IMDb
• Robert H. Harris at the Internet Broadway Database