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 – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

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 Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

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

Early life and career

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

to a dancer mother and musician father, Harris worked as a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

, and a bouncer in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

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

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III (April 6, 1931 – March 16, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'', and for his starring roles in the 1964 independent drama '' Not ...

and Abbey Lincoln. Some of his most prominent roles included the villainous, steel-armed Tee Hee in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

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 (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

in the TV movie ''

Victory at Entebbe ''Victory at Entebbe'' is a 1976 American made-for-television action-drama film for broadcast on ABC, directed by Marvin J. Chomsky. The film starred Helmut Berger, Linda Blair, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Dreyfuss, ...

''. He also appeared in '' Trouble Man'', ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'', '' Black Caesar'', '' Hell Up in Harlem'', '' Friday Foster'', '' Shrunken Heads'', '' Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' and in guest-starring roles on ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the Unite ...

'', ''

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 and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...

'', and '' Love Boat'' among others. Harris was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company in

and appeared on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, '' No Place to Be Somebody''.

Death

On October 17, 2004, Harris died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

while admitted at

Motion Picture and Television Hospital The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...

, aged 81. Harris was cremated and interred in Philadelphia, his place of birth. At the time of his death, Harris was survived by his two children; his daughter Kimberly and his son Gideon.

Filmography

References

External links

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