Richard George Harris II (October 5, 1965 – December 26, 2016) was an American producer, actor, and comedian. He was known for his role as Malvo in the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

sitcom ''

Everybody Hates Chris ''Everybody Hates Chris'' is an American television semi-autobiographical sitcom that is inspired by the memories of the teenage years of comedian Chris Rock. The show is set from 1982 to 1987, although Rock himself was actually a teenager from ...

''.

Life and career

Harris played his first movie roles in ''

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...

'' in 1993 and ''

Murder Was the Case ''Murder Was the Case'' is a 1994 short film and soundtrack album starring and performed by Snoop Doggy Dogg. The 18 minute film was directed by Dr. Dre and Fab Five Freddy and chronicles the fictional death of Snoop Dogg and his resurrection afte ...

'' in 1994. He also had minor roles in

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ...

's 1995 crime film ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

'' and

Mikael Salomon Mikael Salomon (born 24 February 1945) is a Danish cinematographer, director and producer of film and television. After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s earning two ...

's 1998 action movie '' Hard Rain''. Harris was the voice of DJ EZ Dicc, TaaDow, and Saul-T-Nutz from various skits featured on albums from Snoop Dogg to

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albu ...

. In 1993, Harris starred with

Todd Hunter Todd Stuart Hunter NOTE: Requires user to input song title, e.g. POLITICS (born 22 June 1951) is a New Zealand musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enou ...

in the single episode of '' 357 Marina del Rey'' produced for the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

'' Danger Theatre'', playing

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Clay Gentry. From 1996 to 1998 he played the role of Javon "J. W." Willis in six episodes of the

situation comedy '' Moesha''. In the 2001 film ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

'', Harris played alongside Snoop Dogg and

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distinc ...

. In 2004, Harris lent his voice to various characters in the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

'' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''. In 2007, he played the role of Cousin Fred in the film " This Christmas". From 2006 to 2008, Harris played Malvo, a recurring character in the sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris''. In December 2016, Harris died from a heart attack. He had suffered a previous heart attack two years prior.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music Videos

Video Games

References

External links

* * *
Ricky Harris
at Find a Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Ricky 1965 births 2016 deaths American male comedians Comedians from California American male film actors African-American male actors American producers American male television actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Long Beach)