Biography
Born in Kansas City, Harry Harris moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and got a job in the mailroom at Columbia Studios. Later he attended UCLA and studied as an apprentice sound cutter before being hired by Ronald Reagan as an assistant editor at Columbia Pictures. Harris's career was briefly interrupted at the onset of World War II, when he served in the Army Air Forces. Upon completing his tour of duty, Harris returned to his career in film and television and began directing episodes of western series like "Wanted: Dead or Alive," "Rawhide," and "Gunsmoke" in the 1960s. He continued to direct television shows such as "Land of the Giants," "Lost in Space," and "The Waltons" in the late 1960s and 1970s. He was awarded an Emmy for his direction of an episode of "Fame" in 1982 and also won a Daytime Emmy for directing an episode of "ABC Afterschool Specials" in 1983. More critical acclaim followed Harris in the 1980s when he set out to direct the 1985 made-for-TV movie "Alice in Wonderland." He had built a reputation as one of Hollywood's go-to television directors by this point in his career and he continued to build his resume in the 1990s and 2000s by directing episodes of the family drama "Sisters," the hit teen-drama "Beverly Hills, 90210," and crime drama "In the Heat of the Night." Harris's last work was on the family series "7th Heaven" before his death at the age of 86.
