Jonathan Harris on Biography

Jonathan Harris on biography the emmy-winning series premieres next only on Annie he's doctor in space but your greatest act was faking a British accent so no one would know you were really from the Bronx congratulations Jonathan Harris you are biography the emmy-winning series premieres next only on any East American just for November 27 2002 biography with Harry Smith Jonathan Harris the beloved who died earlier this month will be remembered as one of televisions most effective scene stealers while many actors abandon their most famous roles for fear of being typecast Jonathan Harris never turned his back on dr. Zachary Smith the dastardly yet charming villain of TV's lost in space at the time of his death Harris was working on a new lost in space TV movie one that would have reportedly brought the Jupiter 2 crew home after nearly 40 years and countless reruns as fans of the classic show mourn Harris's passing we look back at his remarkable journey from the Bronx to the farthest reaches of space and beyond I want you to see for yourself what a wonderful person he really is he was cowardly nasty mind your manners Nene oh you'll lose your friends and arrogant never fear Smith is here for three seasons Jonathan Harris played the scheming dr. Zachary Smith on the hit science fiction series lost in space what is the meaning of this news very a survey very very funny man charm how true how true the role of the blue blooded villain seemed to be tailor-made for him yet Harris's sophisticated persona was completely fabricated people ask him if he's British he says no I'm not British I'm just affected I beg your pardon the elegant ruse fuelled a career that has included more than 500 film and television appearances and work in voice overs it is up to me to this beautiful woman but it was his portrayal of dr. Zachary Smith that made Jonathan Harris a TV icon and have cult hero to legions of sci-fi fans never fear Smith is here the Bronx New York home of the Botanical Gardens Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo it was here on November 6th 1914 that Jonathan Harris ooh Keene was born he was the second of Sam and Jenny harris ooh keynes three children Jonathan's father was a Russian Jewish immigrant eking out a living in Manhattan's garment district his mother Jenny was a practical but oddly distant woman my mother was a strange lady we never got to the bottom of her it seemed to me in retrospect she did not take joy in her children the horror sue Keynes lived in a six-story tenement building making ends meet was always a struggle for the family Jonathan felt the effects early on my mother took in boarders and I was horrified with that because the boarder slept in my bed in my room and I slept on the dining room chairs he hated it but he knew that they had to take in boarders at that time for them to survive and for them to eat Jonathan was also expected to contribute to the family finances employment took the place of childhood fun by the age of 12 he was working a regular job as a stock boy at the local pharmacy but while there was little money for luxuries sam Harris Akeem took efforts to expand his son's cultural horizons there were occasional trips to the neighborhood Yiddish theater Sam also introduced young Jonathan to opera my father and I sat in the dining room where the radio was and listened to the Opera I fell in love with Jonathan the Performing Arts offered an escape Broadway plays were also a particular interest but he couldn't afford tickets so Jonathan became an expert at sneaking into shows he wanted to see by the time he entered James Monroe High School in 1927 Jonathan was harboring dreams of joining the performers he loved on the stage but to be an actor he would first have to learn how to speak like an actor I knew that I was talking New York East you want to go for coffee that's do you pure New York and I hated it but I went to the Art Theatre and all the wonderful be English movies I didn't ask for whiskey and soda and I said I'm not talk like that I said to whiskey and soda can you imagine what it was like for him to be learning to speak correctly and living in the Bronx can you imagine how he effected he must sound with his friends on the street by his senior year of high school Jonathan had abandoned all things he considered common he was well-spoken and took great delight in such intellectual pursuits as archeology Latin romantic poetry and Shakespeare but while he didn't quite fit in with his peers one student did take notice of the budding bomb Duvall Gertrude Bregman also shared a love of the finer things in life romance blossomed in the high school hallways and in the spring the couple went to the prom afterwards Jonathan treated Gertrude to a late dinner at the Russian Tea Room I'd heard all read that that was very showbiz and you're in when you go there after graduating from high school Jonathan was ready to say goodbye to his old existence once and for all but one tie to the Past needed to be severed he asked his father if they could please change his name because he had always been embarrassed by the name they were made fun of in school in 1932 the eighteen-year-old walked into the municipal courthouse as Jonathan Harris yukine and came out Jonathan Harris while he's still yearn to be an actor Harris didn't dare tell his parents instead inspired by his days at the drugstore he enrolled at Fordham University in New York and pursued a more practical career in pharmacology the decision pleased his mother and father Harris received his diploma four years later and began working in drugstores in New York City in 1938 Jonathan married his longtime sweetheart Gertrude and moved into a modest but elegant apartment in Manhattan Paris's evolution from immigrant son to sophisticated New Yorker was complete but he wanted more Johnathan's strong desire to act led him to take a bold move in 1939 the 25 year old doctored up a phony resume and tried out for the repertory company at the Mill Pond Playhouse in Roslyn Long Island Paris watched dozens of other hopefuls read before taking his turn when it came time for his audition he was able to see what the other actors had done and he made sure that he didn't make the same mistake Harris had never studied acting in his life but he had spent years perfecting his more sophisticated persona the undertaking paid off when he landed a spot in the rep company over the next year Jonathan played supporting parts in 16 of the group's plays and before long Harris was looking to tackle leading man roles I thought I was Cary Grant Oh looked in the mirror and I said yes yes it's Cary Grant and then I pulled myself together and said are you kidding you're a character man by 1942 after cutting his teeth in a variety of stock companies across the country Jonathan set his sights on Broadway he auditioned for the role of a Polish RAF officer in Gilbert Miller's production of heart of a city as he had done before Harris embellished his past at the audition he told producers his parents were from Poland and that he could speak with an authentic polish accent the plan worked and at the age of 27 after only three years on stage Jonathan Harris made his Broadway debut that same year Jonathan and Gertrude celebrated the birth of a son Ricky Harris however had little time for fatherhood I didn't do too well really because I was so intensely occupied with the theater in those days and I'm ashamed but continued employment did allow Harris to give his son a better childhood than his own in 1946 Jonathan worked with Paul Muni and Marlon Brando in a flag is born a play about the struggle for a Jewish state during the run Jonathan's father who had yet to see his son act attended a performance and afterwards went backstage he came to the dressing room gave me a hug and a kiss and he said you belong here I never forgot it Harris thoroughly enjoyed being a performer and completely immersed himself in every part in a play called the spa Harris's commitment to his craft inspired a young stagehand to pursue his own acting dreams watching someone do what they do best and having a great time I thought if I could learn to do this how does much fun as Jonathan seems to be having this is better than working Jonathan loved the attention he got from audiences but he didn't limit his theatrics to the stage he had a walking stick I remember him one night playing at someone saying love me didn't you and these are some people that were coming backstage to see someone else by 1950 television was sweeping across the country for stage actors the new medium offered a steady paycheck and the chance to be seen by millions of viewers Harris welcomed the opportunity over the next few years he appeared in dozens of television productions and became one of the industry's most stalwart character actors in an episode of the NBC anthology series lights out Jonathan played an agent of the devil like many other programs at the time the show was shot live he will not go oh your tongue does not concern you and they will not go he owes you know he has contracted to return this night he cannot for a few my only took what was my own pipe esteem you cannot avail yourself of help from below without paying for this I only took what was my own Sidman what a pity I would have preferred that you came willingly in 1953 the 38 year old actor landed his first feature film Botany Bay Harris worked with Alan Ladd in the Paramount production about a prison ship bound for Australia I imagine they'll be openings at Botany Bay for the firm of oakley inching and sam throats cut while you wait if you're agreed that is I'm for it and you Tom I if you can find room for one other who hi chomp you talent what's he doing aboard the same as the rest of us odd very odd indeed for a man who'd grown up in awe of the movies the experience of being on a Hollywood sound stage was exhilarating but the seafaring adventure sank at the box office and Jonathan returned to working in television but while the new medium lacked the glamour of the movies it would soon help to make the boy from the Bronx a cult hero around the world you are won by 1957 Jonathan Harris is once doctored resume was now filled with dozens of legitimate stage and television credits but his main source of income was still TV and an increasing number of shows were now being produced in California leaving his wife and son in New York Jonathan headed west there in addition to working steadily on the small screen he was also cast in another feature film but the RKO movie catch me if you can nearly ended Harris's career and his life the suspense thriller start Gilbert Rowland and Dena Merrill and was shot in Cuba in the fall of 1958 at the time Fidel Castro was on the verge of staging a coup our American ambassador there he said I keep telling the government the State Department that Castro's in the hills and he's going to move in and they don't believe me we were bombed and fired upon at the Indy Airport terrified house George put fire bombs inside the air conditioning system and we were stuck up there but they had windows that went like this onto a little balcony and then we got out through there but the threat of political upheaval did not stop production we got the wrap in and we never saw the picture by the time shooting was complete Castro was in power the new dictator had the film seized and catch me if you can was never released Jonathan's next movie experience was more routine in 1959 he had a small but colorful role in Frank Bohr's eggy's biblical epic the big fisherman I believe you are qualified for the work astir and very attractive you'll be a welcomed member of our household answerable only to me I wish to have substantial results ready for his majesty upon his return you will have no complaint just to your wages you may sit here there are writing materials if you require anything try Chris bear but the big fisherman was only a modest success and did little to help Jonathan's film career I never thought of it anymore really it was obvious to me that my career was going to be television I knew that somehow Harris continued to be a frequent guest performer on many shows including Shirley temple's storybook and The Twilight Zone but eventually he landed a co-starring role opposite Michael Rennie in the weekly series the third man I think it's an excellent investment of the price mr. lamb when that pattern new york told me about it I killed my maltese banker Fannie your go croco at the scene II friend who your go crow Khalifa see me and asked him to had this warehouse appraised which he did it's worth two hundred and twenty thousand dollars mr. Lyon I think we should buy it before they discover their mistake I'm surprised at you Oh Brad half the episodes of the third man were filmed in Los Angeles and half were shot in London where director Arthur Hiller was an advisor on the show Jonathan even though he was playing a role that was the same each week wasn't the same each week he would bring little things to it that were a little different a little twist a little turn while in England Harris's 16 year old son Ricky came to visit Jonathan took the opportunity to try to bridge the gap that had grown between the two of them he was with the boy as much as he could be in the wandering the streets I'll go with his son to show him the museum or Portobello Road Jonathan made up for some time he lost with the son but soon the in-demand actor was working again while still a regular on the third man Harris continued to guest star on other shows including Bonanza and the law and mr. Jones with James Whitmore do you know an organ-grinder do i what an organ grinder if you do you'd better bring him with you to the hearing tomorrow because her we're gonna make a monkey out of you Jonathan was now a familiar face in homes across America and when the third man ended its three-year run Harris was quickly hired for another series he starred opposite popular comedian Bill Dana bill Dana made his fortune and his career with a character named Jose Jimenez hello let me call him my name Jose Milan in 1963 he brought that character to sitcom television in the bill Danis show Jonathan Harris played the sort of person tickity hotel manager mr. Phillips the sitcom which also featured Don Adams showcased Jonathan's comedic talents just lick the thread by which your job is hanging grows thinner every day the only reason I keep you on here is because I happen to be tolerant warm and lovable and you certainly are chief don't interrupt when I being lovable by now Jonathan had moved his wife Gertrude and son Ricky from New York into a spacious three-bedroom home in sunny California there the 49 year old self-made man indulged in his love of opera knitting with gardening and cooking he gave some wonderful parties I know the first one I was at there was a great one of the best beef stroganoff syv ever had I complimented Gertrude on her cooking says oh I didn't cook it just Jonathan cooked it I don't cook it's bad but I loved it took four days for me to do that that's the kind of cooking I did and I did that for many many years while I was working while Jonathan Harris was enjoying his new Hollywood life American astronauts were training for the most daring mission mankind had ever undertaken we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy but because they are hard the space race promised to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade and Kennedy's challenge inspired a new generation to dream beyond the stars one such dreamer was Irwin Allen the Academy award-winning producer behind such motion picture hits as the lost world five weeks in a balloon and voyage to the bottom of the sea in 1964 after successfully bringing voyage to the bottom of the sea to the small screen Malin produced a pilot for a big-budget television series about a family named Robinson sent on a mission to colonize another planet made for CBS the lost in space pilot featured several well-known actors including Guy Williams and June Lockhart as professor John Robinson and his wife Maureen mark Goddard and Marta christen as pilot Don West and Judy Robinson well and rounding out the cast were Angela Cartwright and Billy Mumy as penny and will at the time the pilot was the most expensive ever produced the network was impressed but executives felt the show was missing certain key ingredients that would make it a surefire hit heroine directed was all about adventure but I think the network got in and said we had to do something with his show guys come on you can't do the same thing every week Irwin Allen's solution was to add a villain to the series after considering such actors as Jackie lab and Carroll O'Connor Allen cast Jonathan Harris as dr. Zachary Smith a saboteur aided and abetted by robot b9 exactly eight hours the part would soon send Jonathan's career into the stratosphere and beyond did you know that Jonathan Harris declined a walk-on role in the 1998 release of lost in space the movie he said I don't do cameos baby after being added to the cast of lost in space in the role of the conniving dr. Smith Jonathan Harris asked producer Irwin Allen for then unprecedented special guest star credit on each episode of the series Allen was appalled by the bold request world the screaming the Holling I'd ever heard of such a thing on about 20 minutes finally ran out of breath has said okay I got it when lost in space premiered on September 15th 1965 it was an immediate hit and Jonathan was singled out by critics as the best villain on television what are you doing there you're not supposed to do that who's the doctor you or me was actually implied that this villainous character that sabotaged the mission and ended up with us was probably going to be killed off after a while do you know what that virus would have done while the rest of your body was in a state of metabolic the animation just taken it over bit by bit after 5 years there'd be nothing left but the metal in your spacesuit oh the rest of you would be one big raging massive virus Jonathan played him as written which was this really dark straight-ahead villain who is trying to murder women and children but at the age of 51 Harris was an old pro and experienced enough to know that audiences would soon tire of the OneNote character Jonathan knew he had to do something and do it fast after a few episodes Harris began modifying the bad doctor to make him more appealing oh the pain my forte is comical comedic villainy I'm a scoundrel a thoroughly bad sort Oh placee and reliable I can be vicious and evil and you'll kiss and hug me by adjusting his performance Jonathan turned the purely sinister Smith into a corrupt yet likeable coward if it's natives you're after there's a whole tribe of them right down there in the valley the natives here are cold Robinsons I could show you the way if he to play that straight you'd have had nothing but he had the eyebrow go up and they let him remote and it worked indeed Jonathan's new take on the character changed the show and writers found that the family's robot was an excellent foil for Harris's comic version of Smith dr. Smith is incapable of telling a lie repeat dr. Smith is incapable of telling a lie you ninny the youngest member of the Robinson family will also worked well with Jonathan's character that mountain must be 20,000 feet high it's very least I could hardly breathe at that altitude it's only a hundred feet higher than the campsite dr. Smith I checked it before long the trio became the focus of the series the new structure made lost in space even more popular and within weeks thanks to Jonathan Harris's inventive portrayal of dr. Smith the veteran actor became a small screen superstar the spark that Jonathan brought to the show was immediate and noticeable I mean there was no hiding it although Jonathan knew how well his character was working he felt there was still room for improvement by the middle of the first season Harris began rewriting his dialogue an otherwise audacious move that producer Irwin Allen did not discourage he came in about Jersey on one day with that finger of his always it was under my nose when he talked to me like that you Gilmore I walked out for the first time in my vast career I had carte blanche to do anything I wanted I shall place my genius on display for all to see and we'd start working on a scene together and he'd have a line and then in the script I'd have my reply and he said no no no about no no yeah before you say that the robot will say this and then I would say this this is this this business give me that hole that an expert show you how this should be done and then you will deliver your line he's right dr. Smith if you're not careful the fish'll get away nonsense our Finny friend is practically the frying pan out Harris also came up with a list of alliterative insults which soon worked their way into popular speech all that denouncing the robot is being a bubbling and bubbling something or other you bubble-headed booby cackling computer deplorable Johnny in related traitor I don't know where he came up with those things but those deficits that was his input he truly truly single-handedly created the character of dr. Zachary Smith that we know this man we love to hate coward who would cower behind the little boy oh the brain save me William that's all him thank you my boy but with the premiere of Batman in January 1966 lost in space faced some heavy hitting competition from the Caped Crusader's to fight off the dynamic duo the colorful second season of the series heightened the focus on its own trusty trio Billy and the robot and Jonathan were let's face it they were outstanding we were all just finding our groove and it turned out that the character of dr. Smith and the character of Will Robinson had a great chemistry together kids watching at home also shared a bond with Jonathan's character they were thrilled by Smith's frivolous and childlike mischief things I love about dr. Smith is that he would always get them in such trouble and then be the one that was the most scare you know so Harris's delight he soon became an unlikely hero for children kids were absolutely magnetized by him he was like a big toy and they wanted to try like that they were scared to death of him but they loved him as the series progressed stories relied heavily on Jonathan's unique contribution we don't need the writer or the director all we need is the star me the original Adventures of the space family Robinson were overshadowed by the antics of dr. Smith plots became increasingly comedic and outrageous dr. Smith Irwin Allen's future wife Sheila even got into the act oh the space Vikings that was the most fun we could go anywhere you know every everywhere we wanted to go with it yeah but I assumed naturally I thought that the mighty powers of Thor when how bestowed upon me but of course the hammer came to you it is apparent to me now it did not come to this mechanical being however Thor will wish to do battle against you help you the sudden chill the popularity of Jonathan's character ultimately helped lost in space become more than just a television show merchandise from the series began flying off the shelves in stores across the country Harris's image appeared on trading cards there were lunch boxes laser rifles model kits even a battery-powered toy robot during the third year of lost in space other cast members who had taken a backseat to Harris were given more to do but dr. Smith was still the center of attention come on Smith you're supposed to be helping my presence here is quite help enough major by now the show had become a pop-culture fixture and began reflecting changes in society including the carefree flower power movement there's an episode where Jonathan is like in this bad wig Ricky we're gonna freak out together who knows freaky baby we're gonna freak out together but being a space hippie wasn't dr. Smith's most unusual incarnation when the show's writers began to run out of fresh ideas for episodes toward the end of the third season they turned their star into a stalk of celery dr. Smith you're acting like a real stalk of celery of course I am I look like celery I draw a moisture from the soil like celery I see her like it was part of the silliness of where the writers were taking us and I think it was a joke they played on us huh yes I don't think they were being really serious fans of the series love the same en --tx but critics began dismissing the show as little more than a campy space fantasy some people would have caused favors candies ridiculous stupid but was not can it was extending what was written into a whole different aura anyone who doesn't like it can kiss me bottom in the spring of 1968 Jonathan and the rest of the cast of lost in space were riding high a fourth season was promised by CBS but then dr. Smith and the space Family Robinson seemed to be marooned for good when the network canceled the series after 83 episodes I don't know what happened all I know is that we were all told we were coming back and then you know we got a call that we weren't for Harris who had by now been a working actor for nearly three decades the cancellation was just a part of the business when the curtain comes out you're disappointed always the curtain comes down you know I've done so much work then the curtain comes down and you go on to something else what good Harris go on could you really shake the character of dr. Smith as easily as they planned or would the actor be forever lost in space Jonathan Harris's character dr. Smith constantly hurled insults or Smith isms at the robot which is your favorite after the cancellation of lost in space in 1968 Jonathan Harris continued to delight television audiences with his irreverent charm he guest-starred in a variety of popular programs and even briefly considered taking a regular role in a production with the curious title Jumba Lena and the tea nurse Kerwin Allen wanted the 54 year old actor for the lead in the proposed children's show about a balloon pilot and his teenaged traveling companions but Harris turned down the part Jonathan did work with Alan again later in the producers hit series land of the Giants examine your contract I merely said I would take you back to earth I didn't say when did I I got a number of guest star roles but he didn't work nearly as often as other actors from that period of time and I think it was hard for him because no one could erase that dr. Smith image as the psychedelic 60s drew to a close there was a greater emphasis on realism in television popular shows such as room 222 and the Mod Squad were more urban than urbane consequently actors like Jonathan Harris were no longer in great demand Jonathan still managed to find work although not on unfamiliar ground in 1973 when ABC ordered an animated special based on lost in space Harris was more than happy to reprise the role he created I poked it his outreach commander I wish to bring charges against his blanking clock I never got a sense that Jonathan ever wanted to get away from dr. Smith he was very proud of what he did with the character and dr. Smith he was always proud of what he did in his work in the late 1970s George Lucas's Star Wars reignited interest in science fiction films one of the first Star Wars inspired shows was the 1977 series space Academy a page commander Jambu 300 years old so I rented the executive producer I said what are we gonna do about makeup and he looked at me and you don't need any while hard at work on space Academy Jonathan received the heartbreaking news that his 93 year old father the man who introduced him to the world of the performing arts had been struck by a car and killed it was the worst day of my life Pepe and then the funeral and then I went to work but how did my crying Alou at home in 1978 Jonathan began yet another phase in his career when he was hired as a voiceover actor on the popular ABC sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica Harris who was best known for his work starring opposite a robot now played one I bring good news we believe we have located the Battlestar Galactica a scouting expedition of colonial vipers has landed on a listening post in the quadrant Oh Tarsus is she aware that she's been detected no our fighters will take her by complete surprise the years Jonathan had spent perfecting his diction served him well throughout the 1980s he worked steadily in the voice-over field in both commercials and animated movies there are voices that you hear that you just go you know it's why he is a perfect voice for any animated film with his face absent from the screen for more than a decade Harris was still best remembered for his work on lost in space thanks to reruns the show continued to be popular across the globe where dr. Smith's pontification zand put-downs could be heard in numerous languages that's a very messy majora counted everliving como yo no se periodontist Ontario in 1990 Jonathan agreed to participate in a reunion of the cast of lost in space celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series the event was attended by more than 30,000 devoted fans like his fellow cast members Harris was surprised to learn that lost in space was more popular than ever the reunion helped launch the greatest renewed interest in any TV show since Star Trek and soon lost his space fan clubs books and websites began popping up all over the world suddenly therapies conventions and personal appearances talk about luck in Australia the series was so popular that it aired in primetime for 20 years and in 1993 dr. Smith fans down under got to see their hero face to face when Jonathan appeared in a one-man show in Sydney never fear Smith is here as lost in space mania swept the globe there was no one more amazed by the phenomenon than Jonathan himself we are a cult worldwide and I'm a coach here oh I see Jonathan at these conventions and he's like you know a God amongst mortals he loves to know that his work is appreciated that it's still pleasing people daily all around the world in 1995 Jonathan agreed to appear in a television tribute to Irwin Allen who died in 1991 he do a lot he was very talented and I must tell you I'm very grateful to him but two years later when plans were announced for a big-budget theatrical version of lost in space featuring Gary Oldman as dr. Smith Harris was asked but declined to participate in the project after all he had created the role of dr. Smith and if he couldn't be dr. Smith again why would he do a lesser role but Jonathan wasn't ready to abandon his screen alter-ego just yet in fact dr. Smith would soon open new doors for Harris and give the veteran actor more opportunities than he could have ever imagined you are watching Jonathan Harris on biography so the big screen version of lost in space in 1998 Jonathan Harris's popularity soared at a los angeles convention designed to promote the newline movie harris participated in the special return to earth celebration for the original members of the Jupiter 2 in the honorary ceremony dr. Smith and the space family Robinson were officially welcomed back to the planet that same year jonathan celebrated 60 years of marriage to his wife Gertrude at 84 harris was enjoying the fruits of his long career but he wasn't ready to retire just yet he continued making personal appearances everywhere including its sci-fi conventions toy stores and television symposiums jonathan remained and demand in hollywood as well his talent as a voice-over artist led Toy Story director John Lasseter to cast Harris in both Toy Story 2 and a bug's life that's been every recording session we had with him he plussed the character so much more than we kept kind of adding more and more scenes with Manny from the most mysterious regions of Uncharted Asia I give you the Chinese cabinet of miserable get off the stage don't hack our demand you know who said that GRU for Lassiter working with Harris was a childhood dream come true growing up the Lawson space and of course dr. Smith from Austin space is is something that is just so familiar to you then when we finally met him it was him it was it was dr. Smith pretty darn sharp I've got her whole thirty years after last playing Smith on camera Jonathan got a chance to bring his alter ego to life again in the new line 20th Century Fox production lost in space forever joining Harris in the television special were former co-stars Billy Mumy and robot b9 played by Bob May and voiced by dick - Feld I wrote the script for the scene with the three of us the robot dr. Smith and Will Robinson obviously I really worked hard to kind of lock into that iambic pentameter of Smith and really get his illiterate insults and everything on the page cuz I wanted to please him where are we were young I'm afraid to look Billy had written a finale for it which I thought was a wonderful idea which of course naturally I rewrote I've always admired your bravery and your courage and I shall help you with work yes depending of course on the condition of life you understand he has dr. Smith I understand it all of Jonathan's lines had been scratched out and he had rewritten them and this is the way it's going to be now and just like in the old days he made him better in 2002 the veteran actor was preparing to reprise his most famous role in a television movie entitled lost in space the journey home but weeks before production was to begin Jonathan Harris died of heart failure after being hospitalized for a chronic back ailment he was 87 years young during the course of his life Jonathan Harris gracefully made the transition from starry-eyed teenager to sophisticated character actor to pop-culture icon he managed to steal the hearts of a generation just as he had managed to steal every scene Mac Jonathan had this incredible gift and experience and talent I mean you have to have the talent to back it all up I've learned a lot from Jonathan he was like so many great actors the epitome of a professional gentleman there are few people in your life that you can think of and you smile and I smile when I think of him I created a Jonathan Harris actor actor and that gives me such jewelry and happiness you have no idea what would become of dr. Smith if the Jupiter 2 crew did return to Earth it's a question that is hotly debated by the show's diehard fans in an online poll nearly 40 percent responded that Smith should not have to stand trial for his role in causing the Robinsons to become lost in space a tribute perhaps to the humanity with which Harris played the devilishly endearing villain tomorrow on biography audrey hepburn with beauty and grace she became Hollywood's fairest lady that's Audrey Hepburn Thursday or biography I'm Harry Smith good night

Channel: William Alexander

Views: 617,910

Rating: 4.8083644 out of 5

Keywords: Biography (Media Genre), Jonathan Harris (Theater Actor), Lost In Space (Award-Winning Work), a bugs life, Toy Story (Award-Winning Work), Bonanza (TV Program), The Twilight Zone (TV Program), Land Of The Giants (TV Program), The Third Man (Award-Winning Work), jonathan harris, biography, jonathan harris biography, lost in space, interviews, lost in space (tv program), jonathan harris interview, jonathan harris on biography

Id: C6kMNqQ-o5k

Length: 44min 42sec (2682 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 30 2014