Brad Harris

Brad Harris
Harris in 2004
Born
Bradford Harris

(1933-07-16)July 16, 1933
St. Anthony, Idaho, U.S.
DiedNovember 7, 2017(2017-11-07) (aged 84)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Film actor, stuntman, executive producer

Bradford Harris (July 16, 1933 – November 7, 2017) was an American actor, stuntman, and executive producer. He appeared in a variety of roles in over 50 films, mostly in European productions. Harris was an inductee in the Stuntman's Hall of Fame.

Life and career

Born in St. Anthony, Idaho, Harris' family moved to California, where he attended Burbank High School,[1] then received an athletic scholarship to UCLA where he studied economics. When he injured his knee playing football he was advised to take up weightlifting to strengthen the injury that developed his interest in bodybuilding.[2]

Harris entered films as a stand-in, stuntman, and later an actor. His first roles were in André de Toth's Monkey on My Back and Li'l Abner. With his athletic physique, Harris travelled to Rome to watch the 1960 Summer Olympics and perform stunts in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus. He stayed in Europe for the boom in European sword and sandal, Eurospy, and Spaghetti Western genres.[3]

Harris teamed with Tony Kendall and Gianfranco Parolini in the Kommissar X series,[4] and The Three Fantastic Supermen/I Fantastici Tre Supermen (1967) series.

Harris invented and marketed exercise products called "AB-OrigOnals." He owned a company called Modern Body Design. In 2015 he was awarded the University of Arizona College of Humanities’ Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in the Humanities.[5]

Harris died in Santa Monica, California on November 7, 2017, at the age of 84.[6]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ http://imbodybuilding.com/articles/brad-harrisvery-alive-at-75/ Archived November 8, 2017, at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
  2. ^ "Brad Harris | IronOnline Health and Fitness Database". Archived from the original on February 20, 2008.
  3. ^ Matt Blake and David Deal, The Eurospy Guide, Luminary Press 2004, p. 279
  4. ^ Tim Bergfelder, International Adventures: German Popular Cinema and European Co-Productions Berghahn Books, 2006.
  5. ^ College of Humanities’ Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in the Humanities
  6. ^ Brad Harris, Actor in Sword-and-Sandal Movies, Dies at 84 Archived November 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, variety.com; accessed November 11, 2021.