| Robert H. Harris | |
| Birth Name: | Robert H. Hurwitz |
| Birth Date: | 15 July 1911 |
| Birth Place: | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Yearsactive: | 1950–1977 |
| Othername: | Robert Harris |
| Spouse: | Louise Lewis Viola Harris (?–1981) |
| Children: | 1 |
Robert H. Harris (born Robert H. Hurwitz; July 15, 1911 – November 30, 1981) was an American character actor.
A veteran of the Yiddish Art Theater from his teens, 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).[1]
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.
From 1950 on, he appeared extensively on television series, specializing in playing shady, if not outright evil characters, roles for which he excelled. 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.)[2] 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, Gunsmoke, Ben Casey, The Asphalt Jungle, and Rawhide. He played the scheming John Sukey in "Have Gun Will Travel" S1 E26 "Birds of a Feather" (1958). Robert H. Harris also appeared in the first season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "Twenty Million Alibis"(May 6, 1973).
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 as the obsessive-compulsive consulting psychiatrist in Edward Dmytryk's 1965 film Mirage. 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).
Harris and his wife, actress Viola Harris, had a son, Steven Lee.[3] Harris died November 30, 1981.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Naked City | Druggist | Uncredited | |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Clarence Fox | Season 1 Episode 18 ("Shopping For Death") | |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Laurence Appelby | Season 1 Episode 29 ("The Orderly World of Mr. Appelby") | |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | John Hurley | Season 1 Episode 34 ("The Hidden Thing") | |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Albert Birch | Season 2 Episode 6 ("Toby") | |
| 1956 | Gunsmoke | Ben Pitcher | Season 2 Episode 1 ("Cow Doctor") | |
| 1956 | Bundle of Joy | Mr. Hargraves | ||
| 1957 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Bellefontaine | Season 2 Episode 39 ("The Dangerous People") | |
| 1957 | The Big Caper | Zimmer | ||
| 1957 | The Invisible Boy | Professor Frank Allerton | ||
| 1957 | The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown | Barney Baylies | ||
| 1957 | No Down Payment | Markham | ||
| 1957 | Peyton Place | Seth Bushwell | ||
| 1958 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | George C. Piper | Season 3 Episode 36 ("The Safe Place") | |
| 1958 | How to Make a Monster | Pete Dumond | ||
| 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Ben Prowdy | Season 5 Episode 14 ("Graduating Class") | |
| 1961 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Morty Lenton | Season 6 Episode 18 ("The Greatest Monster of Them All") | |
| 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 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Doctor Perrigan | Season 3 Episode 11 ("Consider Her Ways") | |
| 1964 | Nightmare in Chicago | Officer Newman | ||
| 1965 | Mirage | Dr. Augustus J. Broden | ||
| 1965 | Apache Uprising | Hoyt Taylor | ||
| 1967 | Valley of the Dolls | Henry Bellamy | ||
| 1968 | The Virginian (TV series) | the Doctor | Season 6 Episode 23 ("Stacy") | |
| 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 |
4. Demetria Fulton previewed Robert H. Harris' appearance in the first season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "Twenty Million Alibis"(May 6, 1973).