Julius W. Harris (August 17, 1923 – October 17, 2004) was an American actor who appeared in more than 70 movies and numerous

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

in a career that spanned four decades. Harris is best known for his roles in 1970s films such as '' Live and Let Die'' and the

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

films '' Super Fly'', '' Black Caesar'' and '' Hell Up in Harlem''.

Early life and career

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to a father who was a musician and a mother who had been employed by the Cotton Club in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as a dancer, Harris worked as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, and a bouncer in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clubs. Before he began his acting career, Harris served as a

medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

in the U.S. Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After hanging out with many struggling actors, he took a dare and auditioned for his first role and was cast as the father in '' Nothing But a Man'', a critically acclaimed 1964 film about black life in the South starring Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln.McLellan, Dennis. "Julius Harris, 81; Broke Stereotypes of Movie Roles for Black Actors," ''The Los Angeles Times'', October 22, 2004, p. B11. Some of his most prominent roles included the villainous, steel-armed Tee Hee in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film '' Live and Let Die'', Scatter in '' Super Fly'', Bubbletop Woodson in '' Let's Do It Again'', Captain Bollin in '' Shaft's Big Score'', Inspector Daniels in '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'', Joseph in '' Islands in the Stream'' and Ugandan President

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

in the TV movie '' Victory at Entebbe''."Julius Harris: Stage, screen actor," ''The Arizona Republic'', October 23, 2004, p. B9. He also appeared in '' Trouble Man'', ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'', '' Black Caesar'', '' Hell Up in Harlem'', '' Friday Foster'', ''

Shrunken Heads A shrunken head is a severed and specially-prepared human head with the skull removed many times smaller than its original size that is used for trophy, ritual, trade, or other purposes. Headhunting is believed to have occurred in many regi ...

'', '' Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' and in guest-starring roles on '' Sanford and Son'', ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

'', and '' Love Boat'' among others. Harris was a member of the

Negro Ensemble Company The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by producer-actor Robert Hooks, playwright Douglas Turner Ward, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundatio ...

in New York City and appeared on Broadway in the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning play, '' No Place to Be Somebody''.

Death

Harris died from heart failure on October 17, 2004, while admitted at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital. He was 81. He was cremated and interred in Philadelphia, his place of birth, and was survived by his daughter Kimberly and son Gideon.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Julius 1923 births 2004 deaths 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American United States Army personnel African Americans in World War II American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Philadelphia Military personnel from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Philadelphia United States Army personnel of World War II