Born and raised in New Jersey, Harry was always into movies. He turned his back yard into a film studio, shooting dozens of super 8 action and horror films. By the age of 18, he had won the New Jersey Institute of Tech Film Award presented to him by legendary director Otto Preminger. The director laughed, when Harry accepted the award and said, “thanks a-lot Ott.”
Harry moved out to Hollywood in the mid 80s and created his comedy routine at the world famous Comedy Store. He quickly made a name for himself in the comedy circuit, headlining the Comedy Store in Vegas and other major comedy clubs in the country. He was in big demand as an opening act for such stars as Gloria Estafan, Liza Minelli, The Beach Boys, the Pointer Sisters, Chuck Berry and Rodney Dangerfield.
Harry received a lot of “Respect” from the man who “gets none”, when Rodney featured Harry in two of his HBO specials. Harry’s love for the movies really paid off when he co-wrote and co-produced three of Rodney… read more
Born and raised in New Jersey, Harry was always into movies. He turned his back yard into a film studio, shooting dozens of super 8 action and horror films. By the age of 18, he had won the New Jersey Institute of Tech Film Award presented to him by legendary director Otto Preminger. The director laughed, when Harry accepted the award and said, “thanks a-lot Ott.”
Harry moved out to Hollywood in the mid 80s and created his comedy routine at the world famous Comedy Store. He quickly made a name for himself in the comedy circuit, headlining the Comedy Store in Vegas and other major comedy clubs in the country. He was in big demand as an opening act for such stars as Gloria Estafan, Liza Minelli, The Beach Boys, the Pointer Sisters, Chuck Berry and Rodney Dangerfield.
Harry received a lot of “Respect” from the man who “gets none”, when Rodney featured Harry in two of his HBO specials. Harry’s love for the movies really paid off when he co-wrote and co-produced three of Rodney Dangerfield’s movies. “Ladybugs” for Paramount Pictures, “Meet Wally Sparks” for Trimark, and “My Five Wives” co-starring Andrew Dice Clay and SNL’s Molly Shannon, for Artisan . In all three films Harry worked closely with Director’s Sidney Furie and Peter Baldwin, through every aspect of the filmmaking process.
In 2001 he made his feature directing debut with, “The 4th Tenor”, a romantic opera comedy, starring Rodney Dangerfield and Robert Davi released by Warner Bros. He followed that in 2002 with, “Back by Midnight”, a prison comedy starring Randy Quaid, Kirstie Alley, Harland Williams, Dangerfield, and a whole cast of colorful comedians.
In 2003 Warner Brothers and Franchise Pictures hired Harry to write and direct the family comedy “Funky Monkey” (aka “Hairy Tale”) to be released Sept. 2004. The film stars Matthew Modine, Jeffery Tambor, Roma Downey, Tommy Davidson, and a Chimpanzee skilled in karate. Harry directed “CLOUD 9” a sexy beach volley ball comedy written and produced by Al Ruddy, Oscar winning producer of the Godfather and Million Dollar Baby. The film stars, Burt Reynolds, D.L. Hugley and Gabrielle Reese.
Harry is also Executive producer and co-writer of “Funny Money” a wild farce starring Chevy Chase, Penelope Ann Miller, Armand Assante, Chris Mc Donald and Robert Loggia. The film wrapped shooting in Romania in Nov. 2004, and will be making its world premiere at the 2006 “Aspen Comedy Arts Festival”. Closing out 2005, Harry directed, “Soul’s Midnight”, a modern day, gothic vampire tale starring Armand Assante, produced by Oscar winning producer Gray Frederickson, (“Godfather 2”, “Apocalypse” Now) It was Harry’s first foray into the horror genre, which he continued in March 2006, with the teen supernatural thriller, “Fingerprints” produced by Brother’s Cleveland/Graymark Pictures. The film stars Leah Pipes, (Disney’s Pixel Perfect) Kristen Cavalari (Laguna Beach) Josh Henderson (Over There) Andrew Lawrence, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Sally Kirkland.
Acting is also another of Harry’s achievements. Since moving to Hollywood Harry has appeared in several films and television shows. He landed a feature role in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1950s period romantic comedy “Peggy Sue Got Married” starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage. Harry was cast as a member of Nicolas Cage’s singing group alongside fellow comedian Jim Carrey. He also appeared opposite Demi More in the sci-fi cult film, “The Seventh Sign”, and wrote himself small parts in “Ladybugs” and “Meet Wally Sparks”.
In 1988, after only several years in the business, then NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff signed Harry to a network development deal. Out of that came several TV pilots, one a spin off from the hit series “Family Ties”. Harry is a frequent favorite on many of the standup comedy shows. He’s appeared on, “Evening at the Improv”, “Carolines Comedy Hour”, Showtime and HBO. —IMDb
