Harold Arnold "Herk" Harvey (June 3, 1924 – April 3, 1996) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and film producer.
Early life
Harvey was born in
Windsor, Colorado
Windsor is a home rule municipality in Larimer and Weld counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 32,716. Windsor is located in the Northern Colorado region.
History
In 1873, a settl ...
, the son of Everett and Minnie R. Prewitt Harvey. He grew up in
Waverly, Illinois
Waverly, founded in 1836, is the second largest city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,307 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named after the Waverley nov ...
and in
Fort Collins
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
and was a graduate of Fort Collins High School before serving in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
as a
Quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
, 3rd Class, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, during which time he was studying
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
. "But when I got out," Harvey said, "I decided that wasn't for me and so I went into the theater."
Harvey came to
Lawrence, Kansas in 1945 to study at the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
, where he majored in theater and acted in scores of college stage productions, including ''
Hay Fever'', ''
The Skin of Our Teeth
''The Skin of Our Teeth'' is a play by Thornton Wilder that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942, at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, ...
'', ''Beggar on Horseback'', ''
Juno and the Paycock'', ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''
Joan of Lorraine
''Joan of Lorraine'' is a 1946 play-within-a-play by Maxwell Anderson.
Plot
It is about a company of actors who stage a dramatization of the story of Joan of Arc, and the effect that the story has on them. As in the musical '' Man of La Mancha'' ...
'', ''
Blithe Spirit'', ''
Harvey
Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit
* Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
'', and ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''. During his years at KU, Harvey served as vice-president of the Dramatics Workshop and was a member of the Owl Society, an honorary organization for male juniors. He earned a bachelor of science degree in education from the KU speech and drama department in 1948 and subsequently became employed by that department as an instructor, while also a graduate student.
Harvey made his directorial debut with an "experimental" production of
Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' ...
's ''
Bury the Dead'' in 1949, and went on to direct several other plays and pageants at the university. He received his master of arts degree in speech and dramatics from KU in 1950.
The subject of his master's thesis was his experience directing ''Bury the Dead'' for the KU stage. Besides his student appearances, Harvey gained acting experience through some work in summer stock, performing on the stages of the
Topeka
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...
Civic Theater and
Kansas City's Resident Theater. It was with the latter organization that Harvey portrayed
Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.
In the play
Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employed ...
in a 1958 production of ''
A Streetcar Named Desire
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...
''.
On June 3, 1950, Harvey's 26th birthday, he married Bernice "Bea" Brady, a Wichita native with whom he had performed in numerous KU theater productions. Immediately following the marriage, Harvey did a graduate study in drama during the 1950 summer session at the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...
, and then studied at the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
for a doctorate. "I made it through summer school and then I decided to go back to Kansas," Harvey has said. He and his wife then returned to Lawrence and both landed jobs teaching theater, Harvey at KU and his wife at the local high school.
Centron Films
While teaching and directing at the university, Harvey broke into the film business as an actor in some of the movies being made by
Centron Corporation of Lawrence, an independent industrial and educational film production company. Founded in 1947 in Lawrence by Arthur H. Wolf and Russell A. Mosser, Centron would come to the forefront of the industrial and educational film companies in the United States. Harvey joined the staff in 1952 and went on to work for Centron as a film director, writer, and producer for over three decades, making a variety of short industrial, educational, documentary, and government films. Films created by Harvey include "Shake Hands With Danger", which won a 1980 Golden Eagle award from the Council on International Nontheatrical Events. Centron competed with large companies on both coasts to become one of the top producers of industrial and educational films. Harvey was known for his high quality films, coming in on time and under budget. Harvey and his film crews were dispatched to far-flung locations around the globe to bring back images for geography and travel films. Harvey also worked with many well-known professional actors and entertainers in Centron films, such as
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...
,
Rowan and Martin
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...
,
Dennis Day
Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent.
Early life
Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...
,
Louis Nye
Louis Nye (May 1, 1913 – October 9, 2005) was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs.
Early years
He was born Louis ...
,
George Gobel
George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', broadcasting from 1954 to 195 ...
,
Billy Barty,
Anita Bryant,
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...
,
Ed Ames
Ed Ames (born Edmund Dantes Urick; July 9, 1927), who also recorded as Eddie Ames, is an American singer and actor. He is known for playing Mingo in the television series ''Daniel Boone'', and for his pop hits of the mid-to-late 1960s including " ...
,
Jesse White, and
Ricardo Montalban
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname.
People Given name
*Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...
. The director won many national and international awards for his work, including the highest honors from the American Film Festival, C.I.N.E., and the Columbus Film Festival.
An article written by Harvey was published in the March 1956 issue of ''
American Cinematographer
''American Cinematographer'' is a magazine published monthly by the American Society of Cinematographers. It focuses on the art and craft of cinematography, covering domestic and foreign feature productions, television productions, short films, mu ...
'' magazine, concerning innovative special effects techniques that had been developed by the Centron crew during the production of an industrial film. Harvey also occasionally penned reviews of local theater productions for the Lawrence newspaper. In 1957, Harvey commissioned the construction of a custom-built house within a block of the Centron studios. The resultant home was hailed regionally as an exceptional display of modern suburban architecture and attracted thousands of spectators when opened for public inspection upon its completion. The home's hillside yard was criss-crossed with a winding network of stone walls and terraces, built by Harvey himself.
Harvey and his first wife Bea were divorced in 1960, due to the latter's infidelity, and shortly afterward Harvey met Pauline G. Pappas, who was one of the investors for ''Carnival of Souls''. The two were married in 1967.
When a crew from
ABC came to Lawrence in 1982 to shoot the controversial television movie on nuclear war, ''
The Day After
''The Day After'' is an American television film that first aired on November 20, 1983 on the ABC television network. More than 100 million people, in nearly 39 million households, watched the film during its initial broadcast. With ...
'', they cast Harvey in a small speaking role as a farmer, while also casting a handful of other local thespians. The film was broadcast to much international publicity and controversy in 1983.
In 1981, Arthur Wolf and Russell Mosser had sold Centron to the
Coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...
division of Esquire, Inc., though production operations continued in Lawrence until decade's end. After 33 years with the firm, Harvey retired from Centron in 1985.
His last project for the company was a prize-winning series of educational travelogues shot in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
.
After his retirement, Harvey continued in various activities, teaching film production at the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
, adjudicating films for the American Film Festival and the Kansas Film and Video Festival, and directing and acting in plays for the Lawrence Community Theater. He also had small speaking parts in the made-for-TV movies ''Murderer Ordained'' and ''Where Pigeons Go to Die'', both of which were filmed on location in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
.
''Carnival of Souls''
![COS 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/COS_04.JPG)
Harvey is best known for his sole feature film, ''
Carnival of Souls
''Carnival of Souls'' is a 1962 American independent horror film produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey, and starring Candace Hilligoss. Its plot follows Mary Henry, a young wo ...
'', a
low budget 1962
horror film starring
Candace Hilligoss. It was produced and directed by Harvey for an estimated $33,000. Harvey had witnessed the recent success of Elmer Rhoden Jr. and fellow industrial filmmaker
Robert Altman in producing low-budget feature films in nearby Kansas City, and began to secure backing from local investors in order to mount a similar project in Lawrence. While returning to Kansas after shooting a Centron film in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, Harvey developed the idea for ''Carnival of Souls'' after driving past the abandoned
Saltair Pavilion in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
. Hiring an unknown New York actress,
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...
-trained Hilligoss, and otherwise employing mostly local talent, Harvey shot ''Carnival of Souls'' in three weeks, on location in Lawrence and Salt Lake City, using a script penned by Centron associate John Clifford. Harvey also played an uncredited role as the film's most prominent "
ghoul
A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...
." Originally marketed as a B film and released by an upstart distribution company that quickly went bankrupt, ''Carnival of Souls'' never gained widespread public attention upon its original release but today has become hailed as a
cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
. Set to an
organ score by Gene Moore, ''Carnival of Souls'' relies more on atmosphere than on special effects to create its mood of psychological horror. The film has a large
cult following, built up primarily via late-night television screenings, and has been released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
by the
Criterion Collection (complete with a host of special features, including an hour of excerpts from Harvey's Centron productions). To this day, the movie is still discussed by film buffs and occasionally has screenings at
Halloween and art film festivals.
Discouraged by the apparent failure of ''Carnival of Souls'' and busy with Centron assignments, Harvey never directed another feature, though he did make several aborted attempts. One was ''Flannagan's Smoke'', a comedy script written by John Clifford concerning an escaped gas from a chemist's laboratory and its effect on the townspeople. Another was ''The Reluctant Witch'', with a screenplay adapted by KU professor
James E. Gunn
James Edwin Gunn (July 12, 1923 – December 23, 2020) was an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work as an editor of anthologies includes the six-volume ''The Road to Science Fiction, Road to Science Ficti ...
from his own
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
short story of the same title. Unlike ''Carnival of Souls'', this was actually to be a Centron production, as Harvey had persuaded the company to delve into feature films. Shooting did begin, in the late 1960s, but it was not long before budgetary problems and conflicts with the lead actor ultimately shut down the production of ''The Reluctant Witch''. Some unedited footage still survives. Harvey also wrote an un-produced feature screenplay of his own, entitled ''Windwagon'', which was a historical dramatization of the Kansas territorial period and "sailing wagon" innovations of the late nineteenth century.
Harvey did live to see the belated recognition of ''Carnival of Souls'', which began in earnest during the mid-1980s. The peak of this revival of interest was a nationally publicized cast and crew reunion in Lawrence in 1989, followed by the movie's first legal release on home video, which sparked a number of high-profile reviews and articles. Several years later, Harvey was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer. On April 3, 1996, weeks after the sound stage at KU's Oldfather Studios (home of the KU film school and formerly Centron's headquarters) was officially christened the "Herk Harvey Sound Stage" in a large ceremony, Harvey died at his home in Lawrence.
The Academy Film Archive preserved ''Carnival of Souls'' in 2012.
References
Bibliography
* Prather, Maurice, "Mosser-Wolf Shoot Official Football Movies," ''University Daily Kansan,'' December 1, 1952
* "Mr. N Comes to Lawrence," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' May 18, 1954
* "'Star 34' Result of State's New Movie-Making Industry," ''Kansas Business Magazine,'' July 1954
* "New Centron Movie Seen by Kiwanians," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' March 11, 1954
* Fowler, Giles M., "Off to a Ghoulish Start as: Cameras Roll in a Kansas Town," ''Kansas City Star,'' September 16, 1962
* "'Carnival of Souls' Might Open New Frontiers Here," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' September 21, 1962
* "'Carnival' Cast Is Built Around Top TV Performers," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' September 25, 1962
* "'Carnival' World Premiere Is Called Producer's Dream," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' September 27, 1962
* Ogden, Ann, "MGM It Ain't . . . But In Its Own Field, a Lawrence Film Company Started By a Couple of Jayhawkers is Making a Pretty Fair-Sized Splash," ''Alumni Magazine,'' February 1968
* "Centron Films Win Awards in American Film Festival," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' May 20, 1971
* "Centron Takes Two Film Honors," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' November 27, 1980
* Bretz, Lynn, "A Play From a Stacked Deck," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' August 30, 1981
* "Centron Wins Double Awards for Film Efforts," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' January 9, 1982
* Warren, Andrea, "John Clifford's Play Set for Lawrence Premiere," ''TeleGraphics,'' January 27, 1982
* Bauman, Melissa, "ABC Official Denies Network Can't Find Sponsors for Show," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' October 12, 1983
* Twardy, Chuck, "Power of Affection Concerns Clifford," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' November 13, 1983
* "Community Theater Has Mixed Success In Trio of Local Plays, ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' November 18, 1983
* "Farm Unit Honors Film by Centron," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' January 19, 1984
* "Centron Wraps Several Projects," ''Back Stage,'' May 25, 1984
* Retzlaff, Duane, "Films Give Broad View of Farming at Area's Annual Farm-City Mixer," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' November 28, 1984
* Gurley, George H., "Horror Need Not Be Vulgar," ''Kansas City Star,'' October 31, 1989
* Dekker, Mike, "A Screen Reunion," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' November 25, 1989
* Butler, Robert W., "The Art of Budget Filmmaking," ''Kansas City Star,'' January 12, 1990
* Burnes, Brian, "Rising From Its Grave," ''Kansas City Star,'' January 14, 1990
* Smith, Nancy, "50s Flashbacks," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' February 28, 1993
* Butler, Robert W., "'Carnival of Souls' to Come Back to Life on Englewood Screen," ''Kansas City Star,'' February 25, 1996
* Biles, Jan, "Lawrence-Made Movie Stays Hip Through Years," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' March 1, 1996
* "Director Honored at KU Studios," ''Lawrence Journal-World," March 8, 1996
* Biles, Jan, "University Pays Tribute to Film Maker Harvey," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' March 14, 1996
* Pigg, Sherry, "Filmmaker Harvey Dies," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' April 4, 1996
* "'Carnival of Souls' Director Dies," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' April 6, 1996
* "Harold A. Harvey," ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' April 17, 1996
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Herk
Screenwriters from Illinois
American male film actors
Film producers from Illinois
Horror film directors
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy officers
University of Kansas alumni
1924 births
1996 deaths
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American businesspeople
People from Windsor, Colorado
People from Morgan County, Illinois
Film directors from Illinois
Film directors from Colorado
Screenwriters from Colorado
Military personnel from Colorado
20th-century American screenwriters
Military personnel from Illinois