Joe Harris (January 11, 1870 - June 11, 1953) was an American actor, who between 1913 and 1923 appeared in at least 94 silent films, many of them cowboy
westerns
The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...
. He often played villains opposite early cowboy star
Harry Carey.
Biography
Harris was born Joseph Harris on January 11, 1870, in
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...
to Irish parents. His first major film roles were in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
productions by Venus Features where he was one of the stock actors for Powers Picture Plays, which was owned by film producer
Pat Powers. He ultimately became friends with cowboy silent film star Harry Carey, for whom he worked as a hired hand. He became one of the members of
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
's stock company at
Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
and ultimately appeared with Carey in about twenty silent Westerns. He and Carey remained lifelong friends, and he lived with Carey and his family for most of his life. He died at the age of 83 on June 11, 1953, in Hollywood, California at the house of
Harry Carey Jr.
Partial filmography
* ''
The Shadow of Nazareth'' (1913)
* ''A Florentine Tragedy'' (1913)
* ''
Withering Roses'' (1914)
* ''The Bride of Lamermoore'' (1914)
* ''
Fooling Uncle'' (1914)
* ''
Bess, The Outcast'' (1914)
* ''
Sally's Elopement'' (1914)
* ''
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
'' (1914)
* ''
The Wife'' (1914)
* ''
The Sacrifice'' (1914)
* ''
The Professor's Awakening'' (1914)
* ''
Italian Love'' (1914)
* ''
Elsie Venner'' (1914)
* ''
The Peacock's Feather Fan'' (1914)
* ''
Retribution'' (1914)
* ''
Mlle. La Mode'' (1914)
* ''
The Man Who Came Back'' (1914)
* ''
Eugenics Vs. Love'' (1914)
* ''
Her Heritage'' (1914)
* ''
The Courting of Prudence'' (1914)
* ''
Jane, The Justice'' (1914)
* ''
Susie's New Shoes'' (1914)
* ''
The Devil's Assistant'' (1917)
* ''
Three Mounted Men
''Three Mounted Men'' is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by John Ford (credited as Jack Ford) and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost.
Plot
As described in a film magazine, Cheyenne Harry (Carey) is promised ...
'' (1918)
* ''
Humdrum Brown'' (1918)
* ''
Hell Bent
Hellbent may refer to:
* Hellbent (novel), by Anthony McGowan
Film and television Films
* ''Hell Bent'' (film), a 1918 silent Western film
* ''Hellbent'' (film), a 2004 slasher film Television episodes
* "Hell Bent" (''Doctor Who'')
* ...
'' (1918)
* ''
A Fight for Love'' (1919)
* ''
Bare Fists'' (1919)
* ''
Riders of Vengeance'' (1919)
* ''
Marked Men'' (1919)
* ''
The Outcasts of Poker Flat'' (1919)
* ''
Ace of the Saddle'' (1919)
* ''
A Gun Fightin' Gentleman'' (1919)
* ''
Overland Red
''Overland Red'' is a 1920 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds
Lynn Fairfield Reynolds (May 7, 1889 – February 25, 1927) was an American director and screenwriter. Reynolds directed more than 80 films between 1915 a ...
'' (1920)
* ''
Bullet Proof'' (1920)
* ''
Human Stuff'' (1920)
* ''
Hitchin' Posts'' (1920)
* ''
The Freeze-Out
''The Freeze-Out'' is a 1921 American silent Western film directed by John Ford and starring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be a lost film
A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or ...
'' (1921)
* ''
Red Courage
''Red Courage'' is a lost 1921 American silent Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and featuring Hoot Gibson.
Plot
As described in a film magazine, Pinto Peters (Gibson) and his pal Chuckwalla Bill (Day) ride into town just as the edit ...
'' (1921)
* ''
The Bearcat'' (1922)
* ''
For Big Stakes'' (1922)
* ''
Crashin' Thru
''Crashin' Thru'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Val Paul and starring Harry Carey (actor), Harry Carey. With no copies of ''Crashin' Thru'' located in any film archives, it is a lost film.
Cast ...
'' (1923)
References
External links
*
Joe Harris - Directed by John Ford
1870 births
1953 deaths
Male actors from Maine
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
20th-century American male actors
{{US-film-actor-1870s-stub