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Goodbye Detective Harris. Ron Glass Dies at 71

(URR) Actor Ron Glass, whose most famous role was that of fastidious Detective Ron Harris of the 12th Precinct in the magnificent sitcom series Barney Miller, has died at 71.   Ron Glass was an accomplished actor, appearing in dozens of television series and programs, and was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Detective…

Harris

(URR) Actor Ron Glass, whose most famous role was that of fastidious Detective Ron Harris of the 12th Precinct in the magnificent sitcom series Barney Miller, has died at 71.  

Ron Glass was an accomplished actor, appearing in dozens of television series and programs, and was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Detective Harris in the underrated Barney Miller.   Despite the passage of forty years, give or take, each episode of that series remains as entertaining as the day it was aired.   The humor of the caricature and absurdity of life inside the drab confines of the station of Greenwich Village's Finest had a gentility and intellectual aspect that is almost entirely absent from today's mean-spirited and crude insult that passes for "humor".  

The series, which ran for seven seasons (1975-82) featured such talent as Jack Soo, Abe Vigoda, Max Gail, James Gregory, Hal Linden, and Steve Landesberg, each playing quirky and offbeat characters which made every episode worth the watch.  Chief among them, however, was Glass as the impeccably dressed and groomed Harris.   

In one memorable scene, in which Captain Miller hears that Harris had pursued on foot and wrestled a suspect to the ground, he is surprised to find Harris looking dapper in his tie, vest, and jacket, like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine.  

Barney says "After all that, I thought you'd be a little more, I dunno, disheveled."  To which Harris replies with flawless deadpan, "Can't do it, Barn."   Brilliance.  

Ron Glass, RIP   You will be missed. 

 

 

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Responses to “Goodbye Detective Harris. Ron Glass Dies at 71”

  1. VMIJPP

    You beat me to it! So, I gave you credit for posting the sad news–
    https://intheoldcorps.com/2016/11/27/rip-detective-harris-and-shepherd-book/
    Harris had some of the best lines, and I still trot a few out regularly, like “shaking cat bones and chicken lips in your face.” Only those who get it, get it.
    RIP

    Like

  2. Elizzar

    I knew him as Book in Firefly / Serenity. Seemed a good guy.

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  3. LT Rusty

    URR, you left out his most important role.
    You’re going to the special hell for that. The one reserved for child molesters and people who talk at the theater.

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  4. ultimaratioregis

    @Rusty,
    Well, no. He was Detective Ron Harris, above all else, to me. Barney Miller was one of my favorites. So anything else shrinks to insignificance.

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  5. Casey

    It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the series, but one scene lasted with me.
    If memory serves, Harris’ book deal fell thru, and he came in drunk. Well-behaved, yet still drunk. I don’t recall what Captain Miller said to him, but his response was pretty much “Go to Hell,” spoken in a rather dignified & reserved manner. Not the sort of thing you normally saw on sitcoms.

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  6. Krag

    He’s Book from Firefly for me as well, too young to have seen him in Barney Miller I guess. A fine actor. I will mourn his passing.

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  7. KenH

    The fact that we can argue about how good he was, in what, just shows how good he was. He will be missed

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  8. mushdogs

    Watching Barney Miller episodes on the tube of you. I’d forgotten what a great comedic character actor Ron Glass was. Det. Harris or Shepherd Book, he made the character his. RIP

    Like

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