"Oh, the pain! Ohhh, the pain!"
American actor (1914-2002). Real name: Jonathan Charasuchin. He was born in the
Bronx to
Russian-
Jewish parents who had recently moved to the
United States. He earned a degree in
pharmacology from
Fordham University but didn't enjoy the work, so he joined a
repertory company in
Long Island. He eventually found his way to
Broadway in 1946, appearing in "
A Flag Is Born" with
Paul Muni and
Marlon Brando.
Harris adopted the
persona of a
snooty classically-trained
British thespian (It's reported that when people asked if he was from
England, he'd say, "Oh no, my dear, just affected.") and made frequent
guest appearances on
television in the
1950s. It's said that he beat out
Carroll O'Connor and
Eddie Albert when he won the role he's best known for: the
scheming,
cowardly Dr. Zachary Smith in the '60s TV series "
Lost in Space."
Though Dr. Smith was supposed to be the
villain in the show, many of the episodes revolved around him, his
doomed schemes, and his
flamboyantly
melodramatic pronouncements. He was often paired with
Bill Mumy, who played
Will Robinson, and the arm-flailing
Robot, who Smith constantly
insulted with
angry alliterations of antagonism ("
mumbling mass of metal," "
bumbling bucket of bolts," "
cybernetic simpleton," and "
traitorous transistorized toad" immediately spring to mind).
Harris was proud of his work on "Lost in Space" and was a frequent
guest at
science fiction conventions, where he greeted his
fans and promoted "Lost in Space"
memorabilia. However, he refused to appear in the
abysmal "Lost in Space" movie in the 1990s, primarily because he didn't want to play a mere
walk-on role. And of course, he also acted in other
films and
television shows, including "
Zorro," "
Botany Bay," "
Battlestar Galactica," "
Happily Ever After," "
Darkwing Duck," "
Freakazoid!," "
A Bug's Life," "
Toy Story 2," "
Hubert's Brain," and many others.
Harris died on
November 3, 2002, of a
blood clot in his heart while receiving
therapy for a chronic back problem.
Research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), from the Associated Press, and from www.lostinspacetv.com/fun/smith.html, for a colossal list of Dr. Smith's insults.