Harry Northup
Encyclopedia
Life and career
Northup was born in AmarilloAmarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He lived in seventeen places by the time he was seventeen, but mostly lived in Sidney, Nebraska
Sidney, Nebraska
Sidney is a city in Cheyenne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,282 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cheyenne County.-History:The city was named for Sidney Dillon, a railroad attorney...
, where he graduated from high-school in 1958. From 1958 to 1961, he served in the United States Navy, where he attained the rank of Second Class Radioman. From 1963 to 1968, he studied Method Acting
Method acting
Method acting is a phrase that loosely refers to a family of techniques used by actors to create in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters, so as to develop lifelike performances...
with Frank Corsaro
Frank Corsaro
Frank Corsaro is one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Broadway productions include The Night of the Iguana ....
, in New York City.
Northup received his B.A. in English from California State University, Northridge, where he studied poetry with poet Ann Stanford. He has made a living as an actor for over thirty years and has been in thirty-seven films including Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's films Mean Streets
Mean Streets
Mean Streets is a 1973 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973...
and Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
. He had a role in Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
's film The Silence of the Lambs. Harry starred in Over the Edge
Over the Edge (film)
Over the Edge is a drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan released in 1979. Due to the negative publicity surrounding a wave of recent youth gang films, Over the Edge had a limited theatrical release in late 1979...
and Fighting Mad. Northup has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
since 1976. He has the rare distinction of being a notable poet as well as a successful career actor. Northup currently lives in East Hollywood with his poet and novelist wife Holly Prado. His son Dylan was born on January 29, 1969.
The poets Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, Leland Hickman
Leland Hickman
Leland Hickman was an American poet, editor, actor, and literary magazine publisher. During his lifetime, Hickman was best known as the publisher and editor of the influential magazine Temblor which was noted for the publication of many east and west coast language-related poets...
, Paul Blackburn
Paul Blackburn (U.S. poet)
Paul Blackburn was an American poet. He influenced contemporary literature through his poetry, translations and the encouragement and support he offered to fellow poets.-Biography:...
, Ann Stanford, William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
, and Holly Prado have influenced Harry Northup's poetry.
He conceived and coordinated the weekly poetry-reading-series, "Poetry on Melrose," at Gasoline Alley, in Los Angeles, from 1986 to 1988. Poets who read at the venue included Robert Peters
Robert Peters
Robert Louis Peters is a poet, critic, scholar, playwright, editor, and actor born in an impoverished rural area of northern Wisconsin in 1924. He holds a Ph.D in Victorian literature. His poetry career began in 1967 when his young son Richard died unexpectedly of spinal meningitis...
, Jack Hirschman
Jack Hirschman
Jack Hirschman is an American poet and social activist who has written more than 50 volumes of poetry and essays.-Biography:...
and Lewis MacAdams
Lewis MacAdams
Lewis MacAdams is an American poet, journalist, political activist, and filmmaker who lives in Los Angeles, California.-Life and work:...
.
Style of poetry
The main themes in Northup's poetry are family, love, loss, work — in particular, acting in movies, place — the plains where he grew up. Harry is a lyrical realist who also explores mysterious and forceful imagery. One of his major interests is the long poem. The eminent critic Robert PetersRobert Peters
Robert Louis Peters is a poet, critic, scholar, playwright, editor, and actor born in an impoverished rural area of northern Wisconsin in 1924. He holds a Ph.D in Victorian literature. His poetry career began in 1967 when his young son Richard died unexpectedly of spinal meningitis...
has written, "Harry Northup is a wild language explosioneer."
Awards and honors
The City of Los Angeles, as represented by the L.A. City Council, awarded Harry Northup a "Certificate of Recognition" on November 15, 2006.Poetry
- Amarillo Born, Victor Jiminez Press, 1966
- The Jon VoightJon VoightJonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
Poems, Mt.Averno Press, 1973 - Eros Ash, Momentum Press, 1976
- Enough The Great Running Chapel, Momentum Press, 1982
- The Images We Possess Kill The Capturing, Jesse Press, 1988
- The Ragged Vertical, Cahuenga Press, 1996
- Reunions, Cahuenga Press, 1996
- Greatest Hits, 1966–2001, Pudding House Press, 2002
- Red Snow Fence, Cahuenga Press, 2006
- Where Bodies Again Recline, Cahuenga Press, 2011
Anthologies
- Venice Thirteen, Bayrock Press, 1971
- The Streets Inside: Ten Los Angeles Poets, Momentum Press, 1978
- Foreign Exchange, Biographics, 1979
- Poetry Loves Poetry, An Anthology of Los Angeles Poets, Momentum Press, 1985
- Gridlock: An anthology of Poetry About Southern California, Applezaba Press, 1990
- Grand Passion, The Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond, Red Wind Books, 1995
Audio
- Personal Crime, New Alliance Records, 1993
- Homes, New Alliance Records, 1995
- As Long As I Tell The Truth What Difference Does It Make To You - An Interview with Harry Northup, Alright, Dude Productions, 2010
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 1968 in film The year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :... |
Who's That Knocking at My Door Who's That Knocking at My Door Who's That Knocking at My Door, originally titled I Call First, is a 1967 drama film, which marks Martin Scorsese's debut as a director. Exploring themes of Catholic guilt similar to those in his later film Mean Streets, the story follows Italian-American J.R. as he struggles to accept the secret... |
The Rapist | |
| 1971 1971 in film The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music... |
Alias Smith and Jones Alias Smith and Jones Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform... |
Hank | TV Episode |
| 1972 1972 in film The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB... |
Boxcar Bertha Boxcar Bertha Boxcar Bertha , director Martin Scorsese's second film, is a loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by Ben Reitman... |
Deputy Sheriff Harvey Hall | |
| 1973 1973 in film The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra.... |
Mean Streets Mean Streets Mean Streets is a 1973 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973... |
Soldier | |
| The All-American Boy | Parker | ||
| 1974 1974 in film The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J... |
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is a 1974 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the American Southwest in search of a better life, along with Alfred Lutter as her son and Kris... |
Joe & Jim's Bartender | |
| Crazy Mama | FBI Agent | ||
| 1976 1976 in film The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film... |
Fighting Mad | Sheriff Skerritt | starring role |
| Taxi Driver Taxi Driver Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy... |
Doughboy | 1976 Palme d'Or winner at Cannes | |
| 1977 1977 in film The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network.... |
New York, New York | Alabama | |
| Handle With Care | The Red Baron | ||
| Which Way is Up? Which Way Is Up? Which Way is Up? is a comedy film starring Richard Pryor. It was directed by Michael Schultz, and is a remake of the 1972 Italian film The Seduction of Mimi, which was written and directed by Lina Wertmuller.... |
Chief Goon | ||
| 1978 1978 in film The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California.... |
Blue Collar Blue Collar (film) Blue Collar is a 1978 film; the directorial debut of screenwriter Paul Schrader. This drama stars Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto.-Plot:... |
Hank | |
| 1979 1979 in film The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released.... |
Over the Edge Over the Edge (film) Over the Edge is a drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan released in 1979. Due to the negative publicity surrounding a wave of recent youth gang films, Over the Edge had a limited theatrical release in late 1979... |
Sergeant Doberman | starring role |
| 1979 1979 in film The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released.... |
North and South, Book II | Major | TV MiniSeries |
| 1980 1980 in film - Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year .... |
Tom Horn Tom Horn Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of Willie Nickell.-Early life:Born to Thomas S. Horn, Sr... |
Thomas Burke | |
| Used Cars Used Cars Used Cars is a 1980 comedy satire film. It stars Kurt Russell, Jack Warden , Deborah Harmon, and Gerrit Graham.Kurt Russell portrays a devious car salesman working for affable but monumentally unsuccessful used car dealer Luke Fuchs . Luke's principal rival, located directly across the street, is... |
Carmine | ||
| 1982 1982 in film -Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T... |
The Day the Bubble Burst | Andrew Arvay | TV movie |
| Knot's Landing | Wayne Harkness | TV, recurring role | |
| 1984 1984 in film -Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film.... |
Nickel Mountain Nickel Mountain Nickel Mountain is a drama film produced in Iceland and the United States. It stars actors such as Michael Cole, Heather Langenkamp and Patrick Cassidy. The movie, based on the novel of the same title by American novelist John Gardner, is written and directed by Drew Denbaum.... |
Frank | |
| 1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.... |
The Deliberate Stranger The Deliberate Stranger The Deliberate Stranger is a book and television film about serial killer Ted Bundy.-Book:Bundy: The Deliberate Stranger was written by a Seattle Times reporter named Richard W. Larsen and published in 1980... |
Tom Hargreaves | TV MiniSeries |
| 1987 1987 in film -Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records.... |
Project X | Congressman | |
| 1988 1988 in film -Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice... |
Kansas Kansas (film) Kansas is a film starring Matt Dillon and Andrew McCarthy.It was released in 1988 and tells the story of a young man returning home to attend a wedding who hooks up with a drifter who turns out to be a violent bank robber.- Plot :... |
Governor Dellit | |
| 1991 1991 in film The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November... |
The Silence of the Lambs | Mr Bimmel | 1991 Oscar winner for Best Picture |
| 1992 1992 in film The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards... |
Unlawful Entry Unlawful Entry (film) Unlawful Entry is a 1992 American thriller film directed by Jonathan Kaplan starring Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe. Involving a couple who befriend a lonely policeman, only for him to develop a fixation on the wife .Ray Liotta was nominated for an MTV Movie Award in 1993 for his... |
McMurtry, Desk Sergeant | |
| Hero Hero A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion... |
Mr. Fletcher | ||
| 1993 1993 in film The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:... |
Philadelphia Philadelphia (film) Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington... |
Juror | |
| 1994 1994 in film 1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time... |
Bad Girls Bad Girls (film) Bad Girls is a 1994 western film starring Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell and Drew Barrymore. It was directed by Jonathan Kaplan from a screenplay by Ken Friedman and Yolande Turner.-Plot:... |
Preacher Sloan | |
| Reform School Girl | Uncle Charlie | ||
| 1996 1996 in film Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:... |
In Cold Blood In Cold Blood In Cold Blood is a 1966 book by Truman Capote.In Cold Blood may also refer to:* In Cold Blood , a 1967 film and 1996 miniseries, both based on the book* In Cold Blood... |
Minister | TV MiniSeries |
| 1998 1998 in film -Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:... |
Beloved Beloved (film) Beloved is a 1998 film based on Toni Morrison's 1987 novel of the same name. It was directed by Jonathan Demme, and was produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions. The film stars Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.-Plot:... |
Sheriff | |
| 1998 1998 in film -Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:... |
Four Corners | Tom Brothers | TV series |
| 1999 1999 in film The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep... |
Brokedown Palace Brokedown Palace Brokedown Palace is an American film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for drug smuggling. Because it presents a critical view of the Thai legal system, most scenes were filmed in the Philippines;... |
Leon Smith | |
| 2001 2001 in film The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy... |
ER ER (TV series) ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television... |
Competency Evaluator | TV Episode |
| 2002 2002 in film The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of... |
The Court | Justice Fitzimmons | TV, recurring role |
| 2004 2004 in film The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol... |
The Manchurian Candidate The Manchurian Candidate The Manchurian Candidate , by Richard Condon, is a political thriller novel about the son of a prominent US political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for the Communist Party.... |
Congressman Flores |