Jonathan Harris

Jonathan Harris (born Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin; Hebrew: ג'ונתן האריס; New York, November 6, 1914-Encino, November 3, 2002) was an American actor.

Biography

Jonathan Harris was born on November 6, 1914 in The Bronx, New York, into a very poor family made up of his parents Sam and Jennie Charasuchin, immigrants of Russian-Jewish origin.

In his teens he worked in a pharmacy as an assistant so he decided to become a pharmacist even though the plays would make him try his luck on the set.

Growing up in Brooklyn, he had a typical accent in which he pronounced prolonging some vowels, so he started watching a lot of English movies to try to correct it; he later began working at the Millpond Playhouse on Long Island. His Broadway debut was in 1942 in the play Heart of the City and during World War II he acted in plays in the South Pacific for US troops. Upon his return to New York he began to thrive on television. His first great success was as a secondary actor in the series The Third Man (1959 to 1965) with the performance of Michael Rennie who was already famous for the film The Day the Earth Stood Still . Harris's role was that of Dr. Bradford, Rennie's short-tempered and ill-tempered assistant. Other performances on television that followed, highlighting the following: the character of Charles Dickens in Bonanza and a bank robber in The Outlaws. He also played the role of Mr. Phillips on The Bill Dana Show (1963-1965). He also played the role of the Doctor in episode no. 17, Twenty-Two , of the second season of the series The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

Lost in space

However, the role that would definitely make him famous was in the series Lost in Space. In it, Harris played an evil and cowardly Dr. Smith, who always argued with the robot in the series. The character, instead of being perceived as sinister, became beloved by the television public; he also became famous for sarcastic insults towards the robot such as “you junk-brain geek”. Despite the success achieved, Lost in Space was canceled leaving Harris typecast in the character he could never shake off.

Other roles include a guest on the show Lancester, a flamboyant foreigner on Land of the Giants and a friendly professor on Night Gallery. Other television appearances were in the 1970s. From 1977 to 1978 he played a 300-year-old commander for the series Space Academy ; from 1982 he dedicated himself to providing his voice for commercials and cartoons. His most recent work was in the Disney animated film A Bug's Life .

Harris died on November 3, 2002 in Encino, California, of a heart attack, days before his 88th birthday. His remains are in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Previously, he had spent his later years touring the United States participating in Lost in Space series fan conventions.

Filmography

• 1998 - Bugs (voz)
• 1999 - Toy Story 2 (voz)