Uri P. Harkham is an American businessman, film producer and philanthropist from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California. He is the founder and former chief executive Officer of Harkham Industries, a women's apparel company, and the chairman of Harkham Properties, a commercial real estate company.

Early life

Uri P. Harkham was born in Iraq.Uri Harkham Is A Happy Man
Van Nuys, California: ''Valley News'', December 13, 1977, p. 20 His maternal ancestors are keepers of

Ezra's Tomb , native_name_lang = ara , image = Ezer Mosque.jpg , image_upright = 1.4 , alt = , caption = Ezra's Tomb main building , map_type = Iraq , map_size = 240 ...

in Iraq. In 1965, Uri emigrated to Australia to join his brother, David Harkham, who was involved in women's fashion in Sydney. Uri is one of eight siblings—he has five brothers and three sisters. In 1974, he visited Los Angeles with his now ex-wife Sally and eldest son Jonathan, and decided to move there.

Business career

In 1975, he founded Jonathan Martin company with Bill Richling, specializing in women's shirts and blouses. In 1976, Harkham started investing in real estate in Los Angeles, and bought part of the Desmond building on 11th and Hope Street. The company is now called Harkham Industries.Forbes: Uri Harkham
/ref>
/ref> It sold women's clothing under the labels Harkham, Hype, Jonathan Martin and Johnny Martin.Public Storage: Board of Trustees
/ref> He has also acted as chairman of Harkham Properties, under the umbrella brand of Harkham Family Enterprises, since 1978.Bloomberg BusinessWeek
/ref> Harkham Family Enterprises is a redevelopment company of commercial real estate, specializing in retail facilities. In 1982, the company purchased Bel Air Sands Hotel, which is now part of the Luxe group currently run by his younger brother, Efrem Harkham. Harkham was the associate producer of '' Gorky Park'' in 1983.imdb
/ref> Two years later, he was an executive producer of ''Ghost Warrior''. He was then executive producer of ''

Delta Heat ''Delta Heat'' is a 1992 film directed by Michael Fischa and written by Sam A. Scribner. The buddy police film was shot in New Orleans, Louisiana. The screenplay was originally written by Bruce Akiyama to be a television pilot, commissioned by Saw ...

'' in 1992. In 2014, he was executive producer of ''Shoot the Cactus''. He has served on the board of trustees of

Public Storage Public Storage is an American international self storage company headquartered in Glendale, California, that is run as a real estate investment trust (REIT). It is the largest brand of self-storage services in the US. In 2008, it was the large ...

since 1993.

Philanthropy

In 1991, along with his brother Efrem, he donated $1 million to the Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, an Orthodox Jewish school in Beverly Hills, California.Naomi Pfefferman
Labor Pains
''

The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. ''The Journal'' w ...

'', February 19, 1998 In 2009, he served on the board of directors of the

American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in ...

in Bel Air. He has also donated to the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

. Harkham has supported the United Jerusalem political party in Israel and the Republican Party in the US. In 1993, he donated $25,000 to United Jerusalem for Ehud Olmert's campaign for Mayor.Uri Blau
Donor bought Olmert's J'lem home in 1995 for 30% over value
'' Haaretz'', September 13, 2006 In 2008, he attended a delegation to Israel with Olmert and former Republican President,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

.Eli Lake
Bush Visit May Boost Olmert
''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New Yor ...

'', May 13, 2008 He donated $25,000 to John McCain in 2008.Campaign Money: Uri Harkham
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkham, Uri Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Jerusalem People from Los Angeles American chief executives of fashion industry companies American corporate directors American film producers Philanthropists from California American philanthropists American Orthodox Jews American people of Iraqi-Jewish descent 21st-century American Jews