Ross Harris
Encyclopedia
Richard R. Harris better known by his nickname, Rossie Harris is an American
actor
, artist
, and musician
.
, California
, Harris began acting at age six. He appeared in over 100 commercials in the 1970s. In 1979, at the age of 10, Ross landed the role of Joey in the classic comedy feature film Airplane!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Rossharrisairplane.jpg with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
. Ross went on to co-star in the Academy-nominated drama Testament
as well as roles on Love Boat
, CHiPs
, Little House on the Prairie
, Hart to Hart
, T.J. Hooker and many more. In March 1985, he replaced Chad Lowe
in the starring role on the NBC
sitcom Spencer. The show was retooled following Lowe's sudden departure, and returned under the new title Under One Roof. Ross has also been on MTV
's Jackass
on the segment named "Big Wheel Craze" alongside Dave England
.
Ross is also the father of two children and lives in Southern California with his wife. He plays basketball daily and likes to "get as funky as possible for a white boy".
space age electronic music act Sukia
in the 90's. Taking their name from an X-rated Mexican comic-book of the same name, Sukia was notable for their crazy, often perverse live shows which sometimes featured a naked saxophone player. Sukia toured the world with acts like Beck
, and Stereolab
, and subsequently put out one album on the Dust Brothers
' fledgling label Nickel Bag Records in 1997. The album, Contacto Espacial con el Tercer Sexo (Space Contact with the Third Sex) was produced by the Dust Brothers and Jerry Finn
.
After Sukia dissolved, Harris formed DJ Me DJ You with Sukia cohort Craig Borrell. More sample heavy and straightforward musically than Sukia, DJ Me DJ You relied on sampling from their endless collection of obscure records along with live instrumentation as the basis of their songs. They put out two records, Rainbows and Robots (2000) on Emperor Norton Records
and Can You See The Music (2003) on Eenie Meenie Records
.
Amidst musical projects, Harris also worked as a music video director and photographer. He directed the music video for Elliott Smith
's Academy-nominated song "Miss Misery
" from the Good Will Hunting
soundtrack
. Harris was the photographer for Beck
's first two albums and performed on them as well, including the Grammy-winning Odelay
.
These successes allowed him to begin yet another career as a record producer, recording works for Virgin
, Capitol
and Polygram
. As a remixer he has worked for Beth Orton
, Beck, The Dust Brothers, The Prodigy
, Fantastic Plastic Machine and many others. His music has been featured on Malcolm in the Middle
, Roswell
and Kissing Jessica Stein
.
As a performer with both Sukia and DJ Me DJ You, he has traveled as far as Moscow
and Tokyo
to play to a growing underground audience.
2003 saw the release of the feature film, Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician
in which he both starred and co-wrote with director Steve Hanft
. It stars Rory Cochrane
from CSI: Miami
, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
from Welcome Back Kotter, Laura Prepon
from That '70s Show
, Beck, Hank Williams III
and the final recorded live performance of legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins
.
, which pays tribute to legendary children's electronic music pioneers Bruce Haack
and Esther Nelson. The album was a culmination of over 5 years of work for Ross, who produced and compiled the project. It features a song by Beck which is produced and engineered by Harris. The project also includes songs and remixes by Stereolab
, Eels
, Money Mark
, The Apples in Stereo
and many more. All proceeds from the album go towards Cure Autism Now.
Ross is currently working as a director, editor, and director of photography. He has contributed to advertising campaigns for Honda, Acura, Rayban, Levi's and the children's television show Yo Gabba Gabba.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Acting career
Born in VenturaVentura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Harris began acting at age six. He appeared in over 100 commercials in the 1970s. In 1979, at the age of 10, Ross landed the role of Joey in the classic comedy feature film Airplane!
Airplane!
Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Rossharrisairplane.jpg with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
. Ross went on to co-star in the Academy-nominated drama Testament
Testament (film)
Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
as well as roles on Love Boat
Love Boat
The Overseas Compatriot Youth Formosa Study Tour to Taiwan, informally known as the Love Boat, is currently a four-week summer program for about 400–600 college-aged Overseas Chinese. In Chinese, it is also colloquially referred to as mei-jia-ying - America and Canada Camp, a reference to where...
, CHiPs
CHiPs
CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
, Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...
, T.J. Hooker and many more. In March 1985, he replaced Chad Lowe
Chad Lowe
Charles Conrad "Chad" Lowe is an American actor. He is the younger brother of fellow actor Rob Lowe. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in Life Goes On as a man suffering with HIV. He has also had recurring roles on ER, Melrose Place, and Now and Again...
in the starring role on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Spencer. The show was retooled following Lowe's sudden departure, and returned under the new title Under One Roof. Ross has also been on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Jackass
Jackass (TV series)
jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
on the segment named "Big Wheel Craze" alongside Dave England
Dave England
Dave England is an American daredevil stunt performer and former professional snowboarder who is known for appearing on the MTV series Jackass, as well as the films Jackass: The Movie, Jackass: Number Two, and Jackass 3D.-Life and career:Johnny Knoxville stated on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart...
.
Ross is also the father of two children and lives in Southern California with his wife. He plays basketball daily and likes to "get as funky as possible for a white boy".
Music career
Harris was part of the Camarillo, CACalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
space age electronic music act Sukia
Sukia (band)
Sukia were a Camarillo, California-based electronic band that featured former child actor Ross Harris, who in the 1970s acted in shows such as CHiPS and the Little House on the Prairie....
in the 90's. Taking their name from an X-rated Mexican comic-book of the same name, Sukia was notable for their crazy, often perverse live shows which sometimes featured a naked saxophone player. Sukia toured the world with acts like Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, and Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
, and subsequently put out one album on the Dust Brothers
Dust Brothers
The Dust Brothers are the Los Angeles, California based, Grammy Award winning producers, E.Z. Mike and King Gizmo , famous for their sample-based music in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work on the albums Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys, Odelay by Beck, and the soundtrack to...
' fledgling label Nickel Bag Records in 1997. The album, Contacto Espacial con el Tercer Sexo (Space Contact with the Third Sex) was produced by the Dust Brothers and Jerry Finn
Jerry Finn
Jerry Finn was an American record producer. He was perhaps best known for his work with Blink-182, as well as Morrissey, AFI, Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, MxPx, Rancid, Green Day, Sum 41 and The Offspring.-Death:...
.
After Sukia dissolved, Harris formed DJ Me DJ You with Sukia cohort Craig Borrell. More sample heavy and straightforward musically than Sukia, DJ Me DJ You relied on sampling from their endless collection of obscure records along with live instrumentation as the basis of their songs. They put out two records, Rainbows and Robots (2000) on Emperor Norton Records
Emperor Norton Records
Emperor Norton Records, was a Los Angeles-based electronica, hip-hop, and dance-music record label. Among the artists featured on the label were Ladytron, Arling & Cameron, Money Mark, Ugly Duckling, and Fantastic Plastic Machine...
and Can You See The Music (2003) on Eenie Meenie Records
Eenie Meenie Records
Eenie Meenie Records is an independent record label that specializes in signing indie pop, indie rock and electronica artists, such as The Faraway Places, From Bubblegum to Sky, Seksu Roba and Troubled Hubble...
.
Amidst musical projects, Harris also worked as a music video director and photographer. He directed the music video for Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
's Academy-nominated song "Miss Misery
Miss Misery (song)
"Miss Misery" is a song by singer-songwriter Elliott Smith who wrote both the music and lyrics. Featured in the closing credits and the soundtrack of the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, the song was nominated for Best Original Song in the 1998 Academy Awards...
" from the Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
. Harris was the photographer for Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
's first two albums and performed on them as well, including the Grammy-winning Odelay
Odelay
Odelay is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, originally released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records.After the mainstream success of "Loser", Odelay featured several hit singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution"...
.
These successes allowed him to begin yet another career as a record producer, recording works for Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
and Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
. As a remixer he has worked for Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
, Beck, The Dust Brothers, The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
, Fantastic Plastic Machine and many others. His music has been featured on Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, Roswell
Roswell (TV series)
Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
and Kissing Jessica Stein
Kissing Jessica Stein
Kissing Jessica Stein is a 2001 independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld...
.
As a performer with both Sukia and DJ Me DJ You, he has traveled as far as Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to play to a growing underground audience.
2003 saw the release of the feature film, Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician
Southlander
Southlander is an American independent film by Steve Hanft and Ross Harris.Originally titled Recycler after the Los Angeles magazine of the same name, the filmwriters changed the name of the movie—and a central plot device—to Southlander to avoid trademark issues.- Plot :Down-and-out...
in which he both starred and co-wrote with director Steve Hanft
Steve Hanft
Steven P. Hanft , more commonly known as Steve Hanft, is an American independent film director.-Early life:Hanft was born in Ventura, California. He started making films at the age of 11 growing up in California. His first works consisted of surf films and nature films followed later by...
. It stars Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane is an American actor. He is known for playing Ron Slater in Dazed and Confused, Lucas in Empire Records, and Tim Speedle in CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
from CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in a number of films and television programs, including Claudine , Cooley High , Roots , Welcome Back, Kotter , Bangers and Mash , and The Jacksons: An American Dream .Lawrence's name, at least as shown in the credits of Welcome...
from Welcome Back Kotter, Laura Prepon
Laura Prepon
Laura Prepon is an American actress, best known for her role as Donna Pinciotti in the long-running Fox situation comedy That '70s Show, for all eight seasons. She is also known for the role of Hannah Daniels on the ABC drama October Road...
from That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
, Beck, Hank Williams III
Hank Williams III
Shelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
and the final recorded live performance of legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
.
Current projects
Harris spearheaded the benefit album Dimension MixDimension Mix
Dimension Mix is a compilation album from indie record label Eenie Meenie Records released on August 23, 2005. The CD is a tribute to Dimension 5 Records and the music of electronic sound pioneers Bruce Haack and Esther Nelson....
, which pays tribute to legendary children's electronic music pioneers Bruce Haack
Bruce Haack
Bruce Clinton Haack was a musician, composer, and pioneer of electronic music. He was born in Alberta, Canada.-From Alberta to New York :...
and Esther Nelson. The album was a culmination of over 5 years of work for Ross, who produced and compiled the project. It features a song by Beck which is produced and engineered by Harris. The project also includes songs and remixes by Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
, Eels
Eels (band)
Eels is an American indie rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E...
, Money Mark
Money Mark
Mark Ramos-Nishita aka Money Mark is a producer and musician who has collaborated with the Beastie Boys many times. He also appears on the first Banyan album in 1997 as the "Freeway Keyboardist".-Career:...
, The Apples in Stereo
The Apples in Stereo
The Apples in Stereo, styled The Apples in stereo, is an American indie rock band associated with The Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Schneider, who writes the...
and many more. All proceeds from the album go towards Cure Autism Now.
Ross is currently working as a director, editor, and director of photography. He has contributed to advertising campaigns for Honda, Acura, Rayban, Levi's and the children's television show Yo Gabba Gabba.
External links
- Ross (Rossie) Harris filmography on Fandango.com)
- 10 Years of Mellow Gold Documentary (retrospective documentary done for anniversary of the Beck's first album, features interviews with Harris)