Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Yulin in Dynasty (1976) | |
| Born | November 5, 1937 Los Angeles, California, US |
| Died | June 10, 2025 (aged 87) New York City, US |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–2025 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Harris Bart Goldberg (November 5, 1937 – June 10, 2025), known professionally as Harris Yulin, was an American actor who appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as Night Moves (1975; filmed in 1973) with Gene Hackman, St. Ives (1976) with Charles Bronson, Scarface (1983), Ghostbusters II (1989), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Looking for Richard (1996), Bean (1997), The Hurricane (1999), Training Day (2001), and Frasier, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1996.[1]
Early life, family and education
[edit]Harris Yulin was born in Los Angeles on November 5, 1937. Abandoned at an orphanage as an infant, he was adopted by dentist Isaac Goldberg and his wife Sylvia when he was four months old, and given the name Harris Bart Goldberg. When he began a performing career, he took the stage surname "Yulin" from his adoptive father's extended Russian Jewish family.[2]
Yulin attended the University of Southern California, but did not graduate and enlisted in the United States Army for a year.[2] He then moved to Florence, where he tried working as a painter, describing himself in 2000 as "extremely bad at it". In 1962, he was living in Tel Aviv when his friends encouraged him to try acting, and he began appearing in small shows. When he returned to the United States, he met acting coach Jeff Corey with connections from his father's dental career and began studying acting.[3][2]
Career
[edit]Acting
[edit]Yulin made his New York debut in 1963 in Next Time I'll Sing to You by James Saunders and continued to work frequently in theater throughout his career.[4] His Broadway debut came in the 1980s Watch on the Rhine. He returned to Broadway multiple times in productions of The Visit, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Price, and Hedda Gabler.[5] In 2010, he played Willy Loman in Death of A Salesman at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.[6]
His first film role was his portrayal of Wyatt Earp in Doc (1971), starring Stacy Keach as Doc Holliday. He appeared in the Brian De Palma film Scarface (1983) as corrupt cop Mel Bernstein. In 1989, he played the role of Judge Stephen Wexler in Ghostbusters II. He portrayed a corrupt national security advisor in the 1994 Harrison Ford thriller Clear and Present Danger. In 1997, he played the role of George Grierson in Bean. He appeared as Leon Friedman, a lawyer of Rubin Carter, in the 1999 film, The Hurricane. In 2001, he portrayed Secret Service Agent Sterling in Rush Hour 2.
Film critic Jim Emerson once quipped that Yulin "should be in every movie ever made".[7]
On television, Yulin appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the episode "Duet". During the second season of the television series 24, he played the Director of the National Security Agency, Roger Stanton. He was nominated for a 1996 Emmy Award for his portrayal of crime boss Jerome Belasco in the sitcom Frasier. In the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he played Quentin Travers, head of the Watchers' Council. Yulin also appeared in Season 3 of Entourage in the episode "Return of the King" as studio head Arthur Gadoff. In 2009, he performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.[8][9] In 2010 he appeared in the AMC series Rubicon. In 2017 to 2018 he appeared in 12 episodes of Ozark.[10]
At the time of his death, Yulin had been cast in the MGM+ comedy series American Classic in the role of Linus; he died days before he was scheduled to begin filming his scenes.[11]
Beyond acting
[edit]Yulin won the Lucille Lortel Award for directing The Trip to Bountiful at the Signature Theatre in New York with Lois Smith.[12]
He directed and taught in New York City: at Juilliard for eight years; at Columbia University's The Graduate School of the Arts; and at HB Studio.[13]
Personal life
[edit]Yulin dated Faye Dunaway from 1971 to 1972.[14] He was married to actress Gwen Welles until her death in 1993. Yulin's daughter, Claire Lucido, was the wife of artist Ted Mineo. Lucido died January 31, 2021.[15][13]
His second marriage was to Kristen Lowman, an actress; they resided in Bridgehampton, New York.[16]
Yulin died of cardiac arrest in New York City on June 10, 2025, at age 87.[13]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Maidstone | ||
| End of the Road | Joe Morgan | ||
| 1971 | Doc | Wyatt Earp | |
| 1972 | The Legend of Hillbilly John | Zebulon Yandro | |
| 1974 | The Midnight Man | Casey | |
| Watched! | Gordon Rankey | ||
| 1975 | Night Moves | Marty Heller | |
| 1976 | St. Ives | Detective Carl Oller | |
| 1977 | American Raspberry | Charles Conlin | |
| 1979 | Steel | Eddie Cassidy | |
| 1983 | Scarface | Chief Detective Mel Bernstein | |
| 1986 | Short Fuse | Chief Harrigan | |
| 1987 | Candy Mountain | Elmore Silk | |
| The Believers | Robert Calder | ||
| Fatal Beauty | Conrad Kroll | ||
| 1988 | Bad Dreams | Dr. Berrisford | |
| Judgment in Berlin | Bruno Ristau | ||
| Another Woman | Paul | ||
| 1989 | Ghostbusters II | Judge Stephen Wexler | |
| 1990 | Narrow Margin | Leo Watts | |
| 1992 | Final Analysis | Prosecuting Attorney | Uncredited |
| There Goes the Neighborhood | Marvin Goes | ||
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | James Cutter | |
| 1995 | Stuart Saves His Family | Dad | |
| The Baby-Sitters Club | Harold | ||
| Cutthroat Island | Black Harry | ||
| 1996 | Looking for Richard | Himself / King Edward | Documentary |
| Loch Ness | Dr. Bob Mercer | ||
| Multiplicity | Dr. Leeds | ||
| 1997 | Murder at 1600 | General Clark Tully | |
| Bean | George Grierson | ||
| 1999 | Cradle Will Rock | Chairman Martin Dies | |
| The Hurricane | Leon Friendman | ||
| 2000 | The Million Dollar Hotel | Stanley Goldkiss | |
| 75 Degrees in July | Rick Anderson | ||
| 2001 | Perfume | Phillip | |
| Rush Hour 2 | United States Secret Service Special Agent Sterling | ||
| American Outlaws | Thaddeus Rains, President Rock Northern Rail Road | ||
| Training Day | Detective Doug Roselli | ||
| Chelsea Walls | Bud's Editor | ||
| The Emperor's Club | Senator Bell | ||
| 2004 | King of the Corner | Peter Hargrove | |
| 2005 | Game 6 | Peter Redmond | |
| 2006 | The Treatment | Dr. Arnold Singer | |
| Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus | David Nemerov | ||
| 2009 | The People Speak | Himself | |
| 2010 | My Soul to Take | Dr. Blake | |
| 2012 | The Place Beyond the Pines | Judge Albert Cross | |
| 2014 | A Short History of Decay | Bob Fisher | |
| 2015 | The Family Fang | Hobart Waxman | |
| 2016 | The American Side | Tom Soberin | |
| Norman | Joe Wilf | ||
| 2017 | The Sounding | Lionel | |
| 2018 | All Square | Bob | |
| Wanderland | Charles | ||
| 2024 | Omni Loop | Professor Duselberg | Final film role |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Neither Are We Enemies | Barabbas | Television film |
| 1973 | Incident at Vichy | Doctor Leduc | |
| The ABC Afternoon Playbreak | John Connors | Episode: "The Mask of Love" | |
| 1974 | The American Short Story | Parker Adderson | Episode: "Parker Adderson, Philosopher" |
| Kojak | Bert Podis | Episode: "Die Before They Wake" | |
| Barnaby Jones | Porter Long | Episode: "Conspiracy of Terror" | |
| Melvin Purvis: G-Man | George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly | Television film | |
| The Greatest Gift | Hog Yancy | ||
| The Missiles of October | Alexander Fomin | ||
| 1975 | Ironside | Sam North | Episode: "A Matter of Life of Death" |
| The Trial of Chaplain Jensen | Lieutenant Kastner | Television film | |
| Little House on the Prairie | John Stewart | Episode: "Child of Pain" | |
| Caribe | Peter Brady | Episode: "The Assassin" | |
| Baretta | Detective Grissom | Episode: "The Glory Game" | |
| The Kansas City Massacre | John Lazia | Television film | |
| S.W.A.T. | Paul Julian | Episode: "Vigilante" | |
| Police Woman | Benny Hummel | Episode: "The Hit" | |
| 1976 | Dynasty | John Blackwood | Television film |
| Insight | Bradley Knight | Episode: "His Feet Don't Stink" | |
| Most Wanted | Billy Wilcox | Episode: "The Skykiller" | |
| Victory at Entebbe | General Dan Shomron | Television film | |
| 1977 | Wonder Woman | Mark Bremer | Episode: "Wonder Woman in Hollywood" |
| 1978 | When Every Day Was the Fourth of July | Prosecutor Joseph T. Antonelli | Television film |
| 1978–1979 | How the West Was Won | Deek Peasley | 6 episodes |
| 1979–1981 | Meeting of Minds | Leonardo da Vinci/William Shakespeare | 4 episodes |
| 1984–1985 | As the World Turns | Michael Christopher | |
| 1985 | Robert Kennedy and His Times | Senator Joseph McCarthy | Episode: "#1.1" |
| 1986 | Cagney & Lacey | Ross O'Brien | Episode: "Revenge" |
| 1989 | Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy | Gen. Tyson | Television film |
| 1990 | Daughter of the Streets | John Franco | |
| 1990–1991 | WIOU | Neal Frazier | 16 episodes |
| 1991 | Face of a Strangers | David | Television film |
| 1992 | The Heart of Justice | Keneally | |
| Civil Wars | Nicolo Nicolai | Episode: "Dan Boat House" | |
| 1993 | The Last Hit | Wilbur Bryant | Television film |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Aamin Marritza | Episode: "Duet" | |
| 1994, 2008 | Law & Order | Stanley Devon / Edward Manning | Episode S4:E16: "Big Bang"
Episode S19:E2: "Challenged" |
| 1995 | Truman | General George C. Marshall | Television film |
| 1996 | Frasier | Jerome Belasco | Episode: "A Word to the Wiseguy" |
| If These Walls Could Talk | Professor Speras | Segment "1974" | |
| 1997 | Murphy Brown | The Jackal | Episode: "You Don't Know Jackal" |
| La Femme Nikita | Gregory Kessler / Norris Gaines | Episode: "Gambit" | |
| Hostile Waters | Admiral Quinn | Television film | |
| 1997–2001 | American Experience | Narrator | Documentary; 2 episodes |
| 1998 | American Masters | Episode: "Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note" | |
| 1999 | Vengeance Unlimited | Judge Harold Wabash | Episode: "Judgment" |
| 1999–2002 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Quentin Travers | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | The Virginian | Judge Henry | Television film |
| The X-Files | Cardinal O'Fallon | Episode: "Hollywood A.D." | |
| 2002–2003 | 24 | Roger Stanton | 9 episodes |
| 2003 | Mister Sterling | Chairman Wilson | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | Third Watch | Jonathan Turner | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Thomas M. Grady Sr. | Episode: "Players" |
| Entourage | Arthur Gatoff | Episode: "The Return of the King" | |
| 2008 | Cashmere Mafia | Rafe Gropman | 2 episodes |
| Canterbury's Law | Chris Canterbury | Episode: "Trade-Off" | |
| 2009 | Loving Leah | Rabbi Belsky | Television film |
| Damages | Claire's father | Episode: "Uh Oh, Out Come the Skeletons" | |
| 2010 | Rubicon | Tom Rhumor | 2 episodes |
| Madso's War | Jim O'Connor | Television film | |
| 2011 | Pan Am | Henry Belsen | Episode: "Unscheduled Departure" |
| 2011–2012 | Nikita | Admiral Bruce Winnick | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight | William O. Douglas | Television film |
| 2015 | Forever | Eli Swier | Episode: "Hitler on the Half-Shell" |
| The Blacklist | Sir Crispin Crandall | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | Veep | James Whitman | 2 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Orson Snyder | 5 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Ozark | Buddy Dieker | 12 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Billions | Leonard Funt | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Murphy Brown | Professor Talbot | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | For the People | Peter Daum | Episode: "Minimum Continuing Legal Education" |
| Divorce | Gordon | 4 episodes | |
| 2020 | I Know This Much Is True | Father LaVie | 1 episode |
| 2022 | FBI: Most Wanted | Grant Moore | Episode: "Karma" |
| 2025 | And Just Like That... | Pop Pop | Episode: "Apples to Apples" |
References
[edit]- ^ "Awards for Harris Yulin". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Roberts, Sam. "Harris Yulin, Actor Who Perpetually Played the Bad Guy, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ McKinley, Jesse. "A Good Run for Actor Who Specializes in Bad". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2016). "Harris Yulin biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Rovi. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- ^ "Harris Yulin". ibdb.com. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- ^ Jones, Kenneth (July 15, 2010). "Harris Yulin Is Salesman's Willy Loman in Ireland; David Esbjornson Directs". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013.
- ^ Emerson, Jim (December 14, 2012). "'I Saw a Rohmer Film Once...': The Truth Behind the Night Moves Meme". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ "The People Speak At MOMA. Special Sneak Preview Screening!". PeoplesHistory.us. Voices of a People’s History. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ "The People Speak (2009)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ "Ozark season 2 cast: Who plays Buddy in Ozark? Who is actor Harris Yulin?". express.co.uk. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 11, 2025). "MGM+'s 'American Classic' Remains In Production Following Star Harris Yulin's Death As Role Faces Likely Recasting & EP Mourns Actor". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Brantley, Ben (December 5, 2005). "There's No Place Like an Imaginary Home". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c Evans, Greg. "Harris Yulin Dies: Star Of Broadway, TV & Film Was 87". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ "Hollywood". New York Daily News. 31 May 1971. p. 116 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mineo, Ted (February 1, 2021). "I'm incredibly sad to share that my love Claire Lucido passed away last night..." instagram.com. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Warner, Georgia (June 26, 2018). "Harris Yulin Does Nixon At Bay Street". Dan's Papers.
... Yulin, who shares a home in Bridgehampton with his wife, actress Kristen Lowman...
External links
[edit]
- Harris Yulin at IMDb
- Harris Yulin at the Internet Broadway Database
- Harris Yulin at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
