Harry Harvey

Harry Harvey
Credits
Role	Uncle Willie
Biographical Information
Full Name	Harry William Harvey, Sr.
Birthdate	January 10, 1901
Birthplace	Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), United States
Death Date	November 27, 1985 (age 84)
Death Place	Sylmar, California, United States

Harry Harvey portrayed ghost Uncle Willie in the fourth season episode, "Tabatha's Cranky Spell" (1968). He was credited as Harry Harvey, Sr.

Biography

Harry Harvey was an American actor. He was born Harry William Harvey on January 10, 1901 in the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.

Harvey had a musical background and began his entertainment career in 1918 with Gus Hill's Honey Boy Minstrels. From there he went on to appear in various minstrel, vaudeville and burlesque shows. This led to many roles on the Broadway stage.

Harry Harvey began working in motion pictures in 1932, and established himself as a freelance character player. He moved to Hollywood in 1934 and had a career spanning almost fifty years. He began working with RKO comedy star Leon Errol in 1939, and within a few years, he became the affable second lead to Errol, the best friend who tried to pull the troubled comic out of his latest predicament. Harvey continued to appear in RKO films until 1952. Although he is remembered as a fixture in dozens of RKO features and shorts, he actually worked at several studios during the 1930s and 1940s, although he did work exclusively for RKO between late 1945 and mid-1948. He usually played bits and small uncredited roles in feature films, mostly reporters, clerks, waiters and stewards. He landed larger roles, mostly sheriffs, in B-westerns, notably the supporting role of Dave Miller in James W. Horne's 1940 Deadwood Dick. After this film, he also got some smaller but more important roles in films by well-known directors. He played Joe McCarthy in Sam Wood's 1942 The Pride of the Yankees, Hagenheimer in Nicholas Ray's 1948 They Live by Night, and Dr. Hilton in Billy Wilder's 1951 Ace in the Hole.

Harry Harvey started his television acting career on October 4, 1949 in the first episode of the series The Life of Riley. He went on to appear in over 120 television series, including The Cisco Kid, The Ford Television Theatre, Annie Oakley, Death Valley Days, City Detective, Mayor of the Town, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Lone Ranger, The Gene Autry Show, It's a Great Life, Cavalcade of America, Studio 57, Schlitz Playhouse, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Broken Arrow, The Millionnaire, The Lineup, Fury, Man Without a Gun, Dragnet, Colt .45, The Texan, The Untouchables, Sugarfoot, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Maverick, Laramie, Bronco, Cheyenne, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, 77 Sunset Strip, Wagon Train, Branded, Hazel, The Wild Wild West, Lassie, I Dream of Jeannie, Daniel Boone, Green Acres, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Marcus Welby M.D., The Virginian, Gunsmoke, The Magical World of Disney, Nichols, Bonanza, Hec Ramsey, Ironside, Mannix, and Adam-12.

He was best-known for the role of Sheriff Blodgett in The Roy Rogers Show (1951-1957), and the role of Houghton Scott in the series It's a Man's World (1962-1963).

Harry Harvey retired in 1974.

He married Mabel Frances Mason (1905-1982). They had a son, Harry Harvey, Jr., born on October 9, 1929, who become an actor, script supervisor, and television director. As an actor, Harry Harvey, Jr. starred alongside his father in two episodes of The Roy Rogers Show: "Ranch War" (season 5, episode 2), and "The Horse Mixup" (season 5, episode 15) . As a director, he would direct his father in two episodes of Mannix: "Eight to Five, It's a Miracle" (season 1, episode 21), and "The Man Outside" (season 5, episode 11). Harry Harvey Jr. died on December 8, 1978, at the age of 49.

Harry Harvey, Sr. died on November 27, 1985 in Sylmar, California. He was 84.

Sources

• Harry Harvey on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on February 26, 2025. Updated June 3, 2025.
• Harry Harvey Sr. on Wikipedia. Retrieved on June 3, 2025.
• The Silent Forgotten. "Harry Harvey Jr.", biography, Findagrave.com, memorial created on February 7, 2012. Retrieved on June 6, 2025.