(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.
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
Posted by: VMIJPP | 11/27/2016 at 07:01 AM
I knew him as Book in Firefly / Serenity. Seemed a good guy.
Posted by: Elizzar | 11/27/2016 at 07:10 AM
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.
Posted by: LT Rusty | 11/27/2016 at 10:41 AM
@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.
Posted by: ultimaratioregis | 11/27/2016 at 11:37 AM
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.
Posted by: Casey | 11/27/2016 at 12:28 PM
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.
Posted by: Krag | 11/27/2016 at 12:57 PM
The fact that we can argue about how good he was, in what, just shows how good he was. He will be missed
Posted by: KenH | 11/27/2016 at 04:53 PM
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
Posted by: mushdogs | 11/27/2016 at 05:17 PM