Chris Harris (14 December 1942 – 30 April 2014) was an English actor, director and writer. He appeared in several UK TV series including '' Into the Labyrinth'' and ''Hey Look That's Me''. He also built a successful career in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

, acting as a pantomime dame, as well as being a director and writer at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

and the

Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...

. He lived in Portishead in

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non ...

Career

Born in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, Harris studied drama at the

Rose Bruford College Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various discipli ...

, then went into rep., which culminated in two years with the

Theatre Company. He attended the

Jacques Lecoq Jacques Lecoq (15 December 1921 – 19 January 1999) was a French stage actor and acting movement coach. He was best known for his teaching methods in physical theatre, movement, and mime which he taught at the school he founded in Paris known as ...

L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq is a school of physical theatre located on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1956 by Jacques Lecoq, the school offers a professional and intensive two-ye ...

in Paris,

Ladislav Fialka Ladislav Fialka (August 22, 1931 in Prague – February 22, 1991 in Prague) was a mime from what is now the Czech Republic. In 1956 he founded a theater. Helena Philipová, Ivan Vyskočil, Jiří Suchý and Vladimír Vodička also contributed to ...

's Pantomime Company in Prague, and was for a short time at the

Moscow State Circus The title Moscow State Circus is used for a variety of circuses. Most commonly, it refers to one of the two circus buildings in Moscow, the " Circus Nikulin" (the old circus, featuring animal acts) and the "Bolshoi Circus" (the new circus, feat ...

School. In 1966 he was in his first

at the

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...

with

Stephanie Cole Patricia Stephanie Cole (born 5 October 1941) is an English stage, television, radio and film actress, known for high-profile roles in shows such as '' Tenko'' (1981–1985), ''Open All Hours'' (1982–1985), ''A Bit of a Do'' (1989), '' Waiti ...

. From 1976 until his death, he performed his one-man comedy shows around the world. Harris was a regular visiting lecturer for the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. I ...

, and was a former member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. He co-directed the opera ''Griselda'' for the

Buxton Festival The Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of opera, music and (since 2000) a literary series, held in Buxton, Derbyshire, England since its beginnings in July 1979. The 2020 festival would have run but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 cri ...

, and appeared in two productions for Dutch Television with members of the

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

. He spent nine years, up until 2000 writing, directing and starring in pantomimes for the

and since then had done the same for the

Death

Harris died of cancer at the age of 71 on 30 April 2014.

Television appearances

*''Hey Look That's Me'' - 1976-84 *''The Rocking Horse Winner'' - 1977 *'' Into the Labyrinth'' – 1982 *''Chasing Rainbows – A Nation and Its Music'' - 1986

Radio appearances

*''The Chris Harris Road Show'', BBC Radio Bristol. *''The Birds'' *''Hiawatha'' *''Harvey Angel''

One man stage shows

*''Kemp's Jig'' *''That's The Way To Do It!'' *''

Ally Sloper's Half Holiday ''Ally Sloper's Half Holiday'' was a British comics magazine, first published on 3 May 1884. It is regarded to be the first comic strip magazine to feature a recurring character. Star Ally Sloper, a blustery, lazy schemer often found "sloping" ...

'' *''Beemaster'' *Arris Music 'All'' *''A Night At The Pantomime''

Books written or co-written by Harris

*''Will Kemp, Shakespeare's Forgotten Clown'' (1983), *''The Alphabet of Pantomime: There be Nothing Like a Dame'' (2000) *''Cinderella'' (2002), *''Aladdin'' (2002) *''Jack and the Beanstalk'' (2002) *''Mother Goose'' (2002) *''Babes in the Wood'' (2002) *''Dick Whittington'' (2002)

References

External links

*
Biography
at his production website {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Chris 1942 births 2014 deaths British male actors British writers British entertainers British theatre directors British opera directors Royal Shakespeare Company members Alumni of Rose Bruford College Male actors from Somerset People from Bridgwater Pantomime dames L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq alumni