Phil Harris Biography (1905-1995)

Real name, Wanga Phil Harris; born June 24, 1905, in Linton, IN; died of heart failure, August 11, 1995, in Rancho Mirage, CA; raised in Nashville, TN; married Alice Faye (an actress), 1941. Career: Actor, drummer, and bandleader. Played in local bands as a drummer in Nashville, TN; appeared with theHenry Halstead orchestra, 1924-27; with Carol Lofner, lead his own band, 1928-30; led own band in St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, CA, 1931-32, then theCoconut Grove, Los Angeles, CA; began a film career, 1933.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Actor, drummer, bandleader
Birth Details: June 24, 1905; Linton, Indiana, United States
Death Details: August 11, 1995; Rancho Mirage, California, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Appearances
So This Is Harris, 1933
Alan Chandler, Melody Cruise, RKO Radio Pictures, 1933
Turn Off the Moon, Paramount, 1937
Ted Nash, Man About Town, Paramount, 1939
Himself, Buck Benny Rides Again, Paramount, 1940
Peter Atkinson, Dreaming Out Loud (also known as Money Isn't Everything), RKO Radio Pictures, 1940
Phil Burton, I Love a Bandleader, Columbia, 1945
Uncle Mike Stanley, Wabash Avenue, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1950
Sergeant Hank Stack, The Wild Blue Yonder (also known as Thunder Across the Pacific), Republic, 1951
Guest star, Starlift, Warner Bros., 1951
(Uncredited) Himself, Here Comes the Groom, Paramount, 1951
Ed Joseph, The High and the Mighty, Warner Bros., 1954
Mr. Cash, Goodbye, My Lady, Warner Bros., 1956
Steve Blair, Anything Goes, Paramount, 1956
Ray Jay, The Wheeler Dealers (also known as Separate Beds),Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer, 1963
Chic Wymore, The Patsy, Paramount, 1964
MacElwaine, The Cool Ones (also known as Cool Baby, Cool!),Warner Bros., 1967
Voice of Baloo the Bear, The Jungle Book (animated), Buena Vista,1967
Voice of Thomas O'Malley, The Aristocats (animated), Buena Vista,1970

Boland, The Gatling Gun (also known as King Gun), Ellman, 1973
Voice of Little John, Robin Hood (animated), Buena Vista, 1973
Voice of Patou, Rock-A-Doodle (animated), Samuel Goldwyn, 1991
Policeman on bullhorn, Clearcut, Northern Arts Entertainment, 1991
Television Appearances
Episodic
Himself, The Colgate Comedy Hour, NBC, 1952
The Andy Williams Show, NBC, 1963
Clarence Simmons, "One Nation Indivisible," Ben Casey, ABC, 1964
The Andy Williams Show, NBC, 1966
"Where Were You at the Last Massacre," F Troop, ABC, 1967
Himself, "Lucy and Phil Harris Strike Up the Band," Here's Lucy, CBS, 1974
Also appeared in "Flaming Arrow," F Troop, ABC.
Specials
"Manhattan Tower," Sunday Spectacular, NBC, 1956
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Jack Benny but Were Afraidto Ask, NBC, 1971
The Bob Hope Show, NBC, 1973
Alan King in Las Vegas, Part II, ABC, 1973
Remembering Bing, PBS, 1987
Radio Appearances
Let's Listen to Harris (series), 1934
Jack Benny (series), NBC Radio, 1936-46
Also appeared in Fibber McGee and Molly 15th Anniversary Special,NBC Radio; also appeared in a radio show with spouse, Alice Faye, 1947-54.
RECORDINGS
Albums
The Uncollected Phil Harris & amp; His Orchestra, Hindsight, 1933
The Thing About Phil Harris, ASV/Living Era, 1996
Echoes from the Coconut Grove, Take Two, 1996
My Kind of Country, Pearl, 1999
Songs
Recorded "Rose Room," "Woodman, Spare That Tree," "That's What I Like About the South," "The Preacher and the Bear," "The Darktown Poker Club," and "The Thing."

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Time, August 21, 1995, p. 21.*

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