| Occupation Actor Years active 1964–1997 | Name Julius Harris Role Actor | |
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| Born August 17, 1923 (1923-08-17) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Died October 17, 2004, Woodland Hills, California, United States Children Gideon Harris, Kimberly Harris Movies Live and Let Die, Super Fly, King Kong, Black Caesar, Harley Davidson and the M Similar People Yaphet Kotto, Clifton James, Geoffrey Holder, Guy Hamilton, Larry Cohen | ||
Julius Harris (August 17, 1923 – October 17, 2004) was an American actor who appeared in more than 70 movies and numerous television series in a career that spanned four decades.
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Early life and career
Born in Philadelphia, Harris worked as a nurse, and a bouncer in New York City jazz clubs before he began acting, and served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II. 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.
Some of his most prominent roles included the villainous, steel-armed Tee Hee in the James Bond 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 in the TV movie Victory at Entebbe. He also appeared in Trouble Man, King Kong, 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, Good Times, and Love Boat among others. Harris was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company in New York City 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 at the age of 81. He was cremated and interred in Philadelphia, his place of birth. He was survived by his daughter Kimberly and his son Gideon.
