Jeff Steve Harris (June 10, 1935 – February 2, 2004) was an American television

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. He was the co-creator of the American television

family sitcom A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...

'', which he created with

Bernie Kukoff Bernie Kukoff is an American television director, producer and writer. He has produced and written for the television series ''Operation Petticoat'', ''A Touch of Grace'', ''The Cosby Show'', '' Thea'', ''Detective School'' and ''Diff'rent Stroke ...

. Harris co-scripted the 1984 film ''

Johnny Dangerously ''Johnny Dangerously'' is a 1984 American crime comedy film, and a parody of 1930s crime/gangster movies. It was directed by Amy Heckerling. The film stars Michael Keaton as an honest, goodhearted man who turns to a life of crime to finance hi ...

'' with Bernie Kukoff,

Harry Colomby Harry Colomby (August 20, 1929 – December 25, 2021) was an American talent manager, producer and screenwriter. While still a schoolteacher of English and social studies at a High School in New York City, he became the manager of the jazz piani ...

and

Norman Steinberg Norman Steinberg (born June 6, 1939) is an American television director, director, television producer, producer and screenwriter. Steinberg was a lawyer before starting writing. He wrote several projects with former dentist Alan Uger before t ...

. His other credits include, ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

'', ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...

'', ''

Operation Petticoat ''Operation Petticoat'' is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, that stars Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. The film tells in flashback ...

'', ''

Detective School ''Detective School'' (a.k.a. ''Detective School – One Flight Up'') is an American television Situation comedy, sitcom that was shown on American Broadcasting Company, ABC for four months in 1979 in television, 1979, for a total of 13 episodes. ...

'' and ''

The New Dick Van Dyke Show ''The New Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American sitcom starring Dick Van Dyke that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1974. It was Van Dyke's first return to series television since ''The Dick Van Dyke Show''. Background CBS was so eager to have Dick Van ...

''. He also appeared in two Broadway plays ''Winesburg, Ohio'' and ''Tall Story''. Harris died in February 2004 of

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

in his sleep, at his home in

East Hampton, New York The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a total ...

, at the age of 68.

Filmography

Acting work

Producing work

Writing work

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Jeff 1935 births 2004 deaths American television writers American television actors American television producers Deaths from emphysema 20th-century American screenwriters