The Harris Family is an American family of entertainers.[1] Their careers, collectively and individually, encompass theater, music, film, broadcast media and performance art. They are best known as pioneers of experimental Off-Off-Broadway theater in New York City, San Francisco and Europe from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s.[2][3][4]

Early life and Florida

Following his Army Air Corps service in World War II, George Edgerly Harris Jr. of Margaretville, New York married Ann Marie McCanless of Bronxville, New York, on June 21, 1948. They settled in Bronxville, the Westchester County suburb where Ann had been raised. Their first six children were born there: George E. Harris III, Walter Michael Harris, Ann Marie Harris, Frederic Joseph Harris, Jayne Anne Harris and John Joseph Harris. Of these six, Ann Marie died at three months and John Joseph shortly after birth. In 1958 the Harrises relocated to Clearwater, Florida, where their two youngest, Eloise Alice Harris and Mary Lucile Harris, were born.[1][5]

In 1959-1960 George and Ann became interested in theater and began acting with the local Francis Wilson Playhouse. Soon all six children were performing in the Playhouse's Junior Workshop.[6][7] In 1961 Ann and her son George III converted the family's garage into a theater and founded The El Dorado Players,[8] an acting company named for the street they lived on, composed of the Harris children and their neighborhood friends. The Players’ first two offerings, Bluebeard and The Sheep and the Cheapskate,[4][8][9][10] were short musicals written by Ann Harris during her college years. Subsequent shows were adapted from a Burton-Taylor film (Cleopatra, the Nile Queen) and from a Broadway musical record album (Camelot). The Players made a film, The Unsinkable Titanic,[9] inspired by Walter Lord's 1955 book A Night To Remember, and the 1958 film of the same name. George III wrote the screenplay and directed, and Ann played "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." Their efforts were rewarded with a sold-out premiere screening and a positive review in The Clearwater Sun newspaper.[10] Encouraged by their successes, the family sensed an opportunity and decided to move to New York City to seek careers in theater.

Off-Off-Broadway

George Sr. moved to New York City in the summer of 1962 as an advance scout for his family.[3][9] He soon met Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club (ETC), a pioneering producer of experimental theater.[4] By December he was acting and directing for La MaMa, which led to work at the two other flagship theaters of the underground, the Caffe Cino and Judson Poets Theater.[1][2][3][4] The following year George felt sure-footed enough to send for Ann and their six children. Stewart found them an apartment and recommended them to her fellow producers. All eight Harrises were enthusiastically embraced by the playwrights, directors and producers of Off-Off-Broadway. Dubbed “The Lunts of off-off-Broadway” by Cino playwright Robert Patrick,[1] the Harrises found work constantly and quickly established themselves as resourceful performers who could act, sing, dance, write and direct. Jayne Anne (aka Jane) made her New York debut as Christopher Robin in the 1964 Judson Poets Theater musical Sing Ho! For A Bear.[11] George Sr. played multiple roles in the July 1965 premiere of Lanford Wilson's This Is The Rill Speaking at the Caffe Cino, directed by the playwright.[12] In September 1965 Walter Michael made his New York debut at La MaMa ETC as Kenny in the premiere of Wilson's The Sandcastle, directed by Marshall W. Mason,[13][14] followed by Young Albert in Paul Foster's The Madonna In The Orchard with Harvey Keitel,[15][16] and in 1966 as Tobias in Tom Eyen's Miss Nefertiti Regrets,[17][18] playing drums and singing opposite nineteen year-old Bette Midler. Also in 1966 George Sr. and Ann acted in the 1966 premiere of Lanford Wilson's The Rimers of Eldritch[12][19] at La MaMa, directed by the playwright.  Later that year Stewart invited George III, then fourteen, to re-establish his El Dorado Players in residence at La MaMa ETC as her “Young Playwrights Series.”[20]  The reconstituted Players reprised their Florida successes, Bluebeard and The Sheep and the Cheapskate,[4][19][21] followed by two new original musicals featuring songs by Ann. The first, MacBee,[22] was adapted from Shakespeare's Macbeth. There Is Method In Their Madness followed,[19][20][23] based on the Harris children's experiences with acting school. As in Florida, the press took notice.[20][23] At year's end Walter Michael wrote and performed the music for Tom Eyen's Give My Regards to Off-Off-Broadway[24] to celebrate La MaMa's re-opening following a period of closure by the city.

In 1967 George III acted in Jeff Weiss’ play A Funny Walk Home at the Caffe Cino.[3] When the Cino closed in 1968 following Joe Cino's suicide,[3] playwright Robert Patrick took up residence at the Old Reliable Theater Tavern on East Fourth Street. He invited Walter Michael there to supervise the music for his Easter play, Joyce Dynel.[4][25]

Professional success

By the mid 1960s family members were cast in Broadway and off-Broadway shows including The Porcelain Year (George III, 1965, with Barbara bel Geddes, Kim Darby and Martin Balsam),[26] Gorilla Queen (Georges Sr. and III, 1966),[4][19][27] Hair (Walter, 1968, with Diane Keaton and Melba Moore),[8][28][29] The Great White Hope (George Sr., 1968, with James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander)[4][30] and Invitation To A Beheading (Eloise, 1969, with John Heffernan).[31] They signed with agents, joined the various unions for actors and entertainers, and by 1970 were full-fledged professionals.

Movie roles include Ann as Doris Acker in The Honeymoon Killers (1970)[32] and George, Sr. as Patrolman Mooney in Superman (1978).[33] Mary Lou as "College Student" was chased by a Muppet named Animal in the 1984 Jim Henson film The Muppets Take Manhattan.[34] Between professional acting and “day jobs,” family members remained active “downtown” with La MaMa ETC, Theater for the Lost Continent and Theater for the New City.

Hibiscus

In late 1967 George III followed the youth counterculture movement to San Francisco.[5] On the way he joined the October 21, 1967 anti-war march on the Pentagon and became the subject of Flower Power, photojournalist Bernie Boston's historic photograph of that event.[35] 'In San Francisco he moved into beat poet Irving Rosenthal's Kaliflower commune, changed his name to Hibiscus and founded The Cockettes and Angels of Light theater troupes.[4][36][37][38] In 1972 he returned to New York City with his partner and collaborator Angel Jack Coe, reunited with his family and recruited them for a new Angels of Light company there.[39][40] In the mid-70s the New York Angels of Light, under Hibiscus’ leadership, became artists-in-residence at Theater for the New City[4][41] in downtown Manhattan. They toured Europe twice, sponsored by National Artist of the Netherlands Ritsaert ten Cate,[42] founder of Amsterdam's Mickery Theater and DasArts.[43][44] The Angels earned recognition at the international Festival Mondial du Théâtre in Nancy, France.[45] Notices in the European press were generally positive[46][47] and most ran with photos, including one with then-campaigning presidential candidate François Mitterrand.[48]

In the late 70s the Angels disbanded and the Harris family regrouped in New York City to present an off-Broadway revue called Sky High.[49] In 1980 George III (Hibiscus) formed a musical art-rock club act with his sisters and his brother Fred called “Hibiscus and the Screaming Violets”[4][50] while simultaneously writing, producing and starring in a new musical, Tinsel Town Tirade, featuring Andy Warhol star Holly Woodlawn.[51]  On May 6, 1982, Hibiscus died from complications of AIDS, early in the epidemic.[52] His legacy and influence in theater and gay liberation are well documented.[2][4][53]

The Harris Sisters

Following the Off-Off-Broadway years and performing with Hibiscus’ Angels of Light in New York City and Europe, the three Harris sisters formed a rock band, The Harris Sisters and Trouble in New York City. They played the downtown club scene including CBGB's, Great Gildersleeves and The Bitter End before teaming up with their brothers George (Hibiscus) and Fred to form the glitter-rock group "Hibiscus and the Screaming Violets.” [50] Following Hibiscus’ unexpected death in 1982 the sisters rallied and formed The Harris Sisters harmony trio and became prolific cabaret performers in New York City.[54] The Harris Sisters also performed on the talk show Geraldo, in service of the homeless through VETCO (Vietnam Veterans Ensemble Theater Company).

In the 1980s the Harris sisters created a successful business, Coat Check Inc.,[55] to provide high-end event services (coat checking, waiter staff) to clients including The Metropolitan Costume Ball and Victoria's Secret. Their employees were actors and entertainers who needed flexible shifts to accommodate their unpredictable audition and performance schedules. In the late 1980s the sisters teamed up with Broadway composer Richard Adler[56] (The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees) to record an album titled The Harris Sisters Sing Richard Adler.[57] In 1992, the sisters performed in Hibiscus,[58] a musical about their late brother George, presented by Ellen Stewart at La MaMa ETC. The following year the Harris sisters co-wrote, produced and performed in the “backstage” musical Cheek to Cheek[59] which also premiered at La MaMa ETC.

Memoirs

The Harris family published two memoirs documenting their lives and careers: Caravan to Oz – a family reinvents itself off-off-Broadway (2014),[60] is a memoir of the family's artistic and personal journey as a family; and Flower Power Man,[61] a biography of the late George Harris III/ Hibiscus. Both books include essays and photos contributed by the family's friends and colleagues.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Crespy, David A. (2003). Off-Off Broadway Explosion: How Provocative Playwrights of the 1960s Ignited a New American Theater. New York City: Watson-Guptill Publications. pp. 61–63. ISBN 978-0823088324.
  2. 1 2 3 Silva, Horacio (August 17, 2003). "Karma Chameleon". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Stone, Wendell C. (2005). Caffe Cino: the birthplace of off-off-Broadway. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. pp. 143, 183–184, 146–149. ISBN 978-0-8093-2645-7.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 MacLeod, Kembrew (2018). The Downtown Pop Underground: New York City and the literary punks, renegade artists, DIY filmmakers, mad playwrights, and rock 'n' roll glitter queens who revolutionized culture. New York, NY: Abrams Press. pp. 3–4, 63–73, 86, 93, 127–128, 146, 161–162, 177–178, 193–194, 189, 191, 198, 242–246, 305–306, 321–322, 325 and front cover, upper right photo. This book examines the artistic and cultural revolution in downtown New York City through the careers of eight artists including George E. Harris III (Hibiscus) and his family. ISBN 978-1-4197-3252-2.
  5. 1 2 Thompson, Mark (1987). Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. pp. 61–68. ISBN 978-0-31200600-6.
  6. ↑ Staff arts writer (April 4, 1962). "Junior Workshop's Latest: 'Simon Bigears' Slated for Three Presentations". The Clearwater Sun. p. 10B. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  7. ↑ Blum, Joyce (August 12, 1960). "Junior Workshop May Prove Seedbed for Talent". The Clearwater Sun. p. 3A. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 Albert, Irene (April 7, 1068). "Walter Harris Appearing in 'HAIR': Ex-Local Youth Now on Broadway". Books, Music and the Performing Arts. The Clearwater Sun. p. 7D. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 Johnson, Faye (July 22, 1962). "Unsinkable Thespians Plan Film Drama, 'The Unsinkable Titanic'". The Clearwater Sun. p. 12A. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Hutchens, Beverly (November 19, 1962). "Film Produces by Boy, 13: 'Unsinkable Titanic' Triumph". The Clearwater Sun. p. 1B. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  11. ↑ Judson Poets Theater, show ad mentioning Jane Harris (December 17, 1964). "Sing Ho! For A Bear". The Village Voice. p. 10. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  12. 1 2 Wilson, Lanford (1967). The Rimers of Eldritch & Other Plays. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 2. ISBN 9780374521684.
  13. ↑ Smith, Michael (September 30, 1965). "Theater Journal, Review of 'The Sandcastle' at La MaMa". The Village Voice. p. 30. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  14. ↑ "The Sandcastle by Lanford Wilson, La MaMa ETC Digital Archives; 1965 show program, cast list, review and other ephemera".
  15. ↑ Tallmer, Jerry (November 28, 1965). "Across The Footllights: Ned in Nighttown". The New York Post. p. 56. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/206. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  16. ↑ "The Madonna In The Orchard by Paul Foster, La MaMa ETC Digital Archives; 1965 show poster with cast list".
  17. ↑ La MaMa Archives, Digital Collections (December 6, 1965). "Camping "In" - review of 'Miss Nefertiti Regrets'". Main Events. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/173#. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  18. ↑ "Miss Nefertiti Regrets, La MaMa ETC Digital Archives, 1966 show program with cast list and links to related ephemera".
  19. 1 2 3 4 Poland, Albert; Mailman, Bruce (1972). The Off Off Broadway Book: The Plays, People, Theatre. Indianapolis and New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. pp. xxxv, xxxvi, 135, 199. ISBN 978-0672517532.
  20. 1 2 3 Smith, Michael (June 9, 1966). "Theater Journal". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 23, 2018 – via http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/291. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  21. ↑ La MaMa Archives, Digital Collections (1965). "George Harris III's El Dorado Players In: Two New Musicals". Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  22. ↑ La MaMa Archives, Digital Collections (1966). "Promotional Flyer: "Macbee"". Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  23. 1 2 Rundt, Jorden (1966). "Ingen Lavendelduft - Teater for born". Denmark. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  24. ↑ Sullivan, Dan (December 9, 1966). "Cafe La Mama Reopens With Laughter and Regards to Equity". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/360. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  25. ↑ Patrick, Robert (1972). Robert Patrick's Cheep Theatricks. New York: Samuel French, Inc. pp. 173. ISBN 978-0573600364.
  26. ↑ SoRelle, Ruth (October 7, 1965). "To Appear on Broadway - George E. Harris, Jr". The Lakeville Journal. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  27. ↑ Smith, Michael (1969). The Best of off-off-Broadway - Anthology - 'Gorilla Queen' by Ron Tavel. New York: Dutton. ASIN B000GTA9J2. OL 18535597M.
  28. ↑ Bottoms, Stephen (2017). Harding, James M.; Rosenthal, Cindy (eds.). The Sixties: Center Stage: Mainstream and Popular Performances in a Turbulent Decade: Selling the Ensemble: Hair, Oh! Calcutta!, and Commercial Theatre in the Late 1960s. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. pp. 79–82. ISBN 9780472053360.
  29. ↑ Grode, Eric (2010). HAIR : the story of the show that defined a generation. Philadelphia: Running Press / Carlton Books (design). pp. 57, 65, 88, 125, 134, 143, 153, 154. ISBN 9780762441280.
  30. ↑ Sackler, Howard (1968). The Great White Hope – a drama in three acts. New York: Samuel French, Inc. pp. See original cast list. ISBN 978-0573609602.
  31. ↑ Joseph Papp, Producer, New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater (March 8, 1969). "Invitation to a Beheading - Original Cast List". Retrieved June 23, 2018 – via https://www.broadwayworld.com/shows/cast.php?showid=327978. {{cite web}}: External link in |via= (help)
  32. ↑ Kastle, Leonard (writer-producer) (July 23, 2018). "IMDB - "The Honeymoon Killers" - Full Cast List". IMDb. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  33. ↑ Donner, Richard (director) (July 23, 2018). "Superman (1978) - See Full Cast List". IMDb. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  34. ↑ Oz, Frank (director) (July 23, 2018). "IMDB "The Muppets Take Manhattan - See Full Cast List". IMDb. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  35. ↑ Ashe, Alice (2005). "Bernie Boston: View Finder" (PDF). Curio Magazine, James Madison University, 2005. 73: 11–15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-20 – via https://web.archive.org/web/20090920062711/http://www.curiomagazine.com/archives/2005/images/boston.pdf. {{cite journal}}: External link in |via= (help)
  36. ↑ Blauvelt, Andrew, ed. (2015). Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center. pp. 23, 83, 84–86, 288, 293. ISBN 9781935963097.
  37. ↑ Tent, Pam (2004). Midnight at the Palace: My Life as a Fabulous Cockette. Los Angeles: Alyson Publications. pp. 33–35. ISBN 978-1-55152-231-9.
  38. ↑ Brooks, Adrian, with photos by Daniel Nicoletta (2008). Flights of Angels, my life with The Angels of Light. Vancouver, BC, Canada: Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 978-1-55152-231-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. ↑ Leogrande, Ernest, Night Owl Reporter (May 6, 1972). "Theater of Lunacy". The New York Daily News.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  40. ↑ Smith, Michael (April 20, 1972). "Theater Journal: Angels of Light". The Village Voice.
  41. ↑ MacLeod, Kembrew (May 16, 2017). "Prairie Pop: Former Angels of Light reminisce about the influence of their brother and son Hibiscus". Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  42. ↑ Klaic, Dragan (October 30, 2008). "Ritsaert ten Cate, Dutch producer of avant-garde theatre and installation artist". The Guardian, US Edition. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  43. ↑ Austria, Maria (1988). van Alphen, Oscar; van Dantzig, Bob (eds.). Mickery 1965-1987, A Photographic History. Den Haag (The Hague): Cip-Gegevens Koninklijke Bibliotheek / International Theatre Bookshop. pp. 83a, 113a. ISBN 978-90-6403-183-0.
  44. ↑ ten Cate, Ritseart (September 5, 2008). "Speak memory! Grasping the past, reshaping memory. Thoughts: Speech, research workshop Artistic Explorations in cultural memory". TouchTime, Leiden University, Faculty of Creative and Performing Arts. 03: Item 5 – via http://www.touchtime.nl/thoughts/614.html. {{cite journal}}: External link in |via= (help)
  45. ↑ Moati, Serge (December 2, 2013). "Un Film de Serge Moati et Jacques Trefouel pour FR3-Lille Un reportage sur le Festival Mondial du Théâtre de Nancy 1975: a documentary film of the 1975 Nancy festival. Performance clips of, and interview with, the Angels of Light, including the Harris family, and Jack Lange, the future Minister of Culture of France, between minute markers 41:32-47:40". YouTube. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Xe festival de Nancy: le calme après la tempere, les troupes, le temp du raffinement". Le Journal de la Banlieue, Six Lorraine. May 18, 1975.
  47. ↑ "Angels of the Light, de l'autre cote de la nuit". Le Quotidien de Paris, No. 465, journal d'informations, politiques et culturelles. October 12, 1975.
  48. ↑ "Francois Mitterrand ches les angels de lumiere". L'est Republican, No. 29, 114, le fort tirage des jounaux de l'est. May 13, 1975.
  49. ↑ Corry, John (June 29, 1979). "Stage: Sky High, Camp Musical (review)". The New York Times.
  50. 1 2 Waxman, D.J. (June 1, 1981). "New Waves or Perennial Blossoms: D.J. Waxman Meets Hibiscus". New York Native. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  51. ↑ Woodlawn, Holly, with Jeff Copeland (1991). The Holly Woodlawn Story, A Low Life in High Heels. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-06429-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  52. ↑ "Founder of Cockettes, Hibiscus, Dead of GRID". The Advocate. No. 345. June 24, 1982. p. 12.
  53. ↑ Hirsch, David (May 27, 1982). "Remembering Hibiscus". New York Native.
  54. ↑ Sanders, Marlene (Spring–Summer 2001). "SPOTS". AFTRA Magazine.
  55. ↑ Torres, Nichole L. (November 1, 2001). "Everybody's Little Helper". Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  56. ↑ Adler, Richard (1990). You gotta have heart : an autobiography. Davis, Lee (Lee Allyn). New York: D.I. Fine. ISBN 978-1556112010. OCLC 20669816.
  57. ↑ Rubinsky, Jane (October 1, 1988). "Richard Adler Comes Full Circle". Sheet Music Magazine. Vol. 12, no. 7. Shacor. ASIN B003XG1ZU2.
  58. ↑ Rosenthal, Cindy (2017). Ellen Stewart presents : fifty years of La MaMa experimental theatre. Ann Arbor. p. 131. ISBN 9780472117420. OCLC 985920015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  59. ↑ New York Media, LLC (May 24, 1993). "Cheek to Cheek - Theater Listing in New York Magazine, p. 83". Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  60. ↑ Harris, Ann (2014). Caravan to Oz : a family reinvents itself off-off-Broadway. Harris, Walter Michael,, Harris-Kelley, Jayne Anne,, Harris-Damone, Eloise,, Harris-Pietsch, Mary Lou. New York. ISBN 9780615997520. OCLC 893924240.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  61. ↑ Harris, Mary Lou; Harris, Jayne Anne; Harris, Eloise (2017-10-06). Flower Power Man. El Dorado Books USA. ISBN 978-0692941805.
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