Bob Harris, Ed Harris’ Dad, Dies in Evanston at 91

Bob Harris, a one-time singer on the Perry Como Show, orchestra manager and occasional actor, died at his Evanston home Feb. 14, according to an article in the Lake County News-Sun. Harris, the father of actor Ed Harris, was 91.

He performed skits with Carol Burnett and Dom DeLuise, and took small roles in his son’s films, such as the 2008 Appaloosa, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

While working at the bookstore at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1985, he read a biography of Jackson Pollock, which he sent to his son with a note that said, “maybe there’s a picture in it,” the article said. This suggestion eventually led to the film Pollock.

He performed for local audiences at Evanston’s Northminster Presbyterian Church, sometimes with Ed in the audience, singing and dancing as one of the Northminster Players, the News-Sun said.

There will be a memorial for him Saturday at 2 p.m. at Northminster, 2515 Central Park Ave. in Evanston.

You can read the full News-Sun article here.

You can read the full Hollywood Reporter story here.