Harry Northup

Harry E. Northup
Harry Northup
Born (1940-09-02) September 2, 1940 (age 84)
Occupation(s)Actor, poet
Years active1949–present

Harry E. Northup (born September 2, 1940) is an American actor and poet. As an actor, he made frequent appearances in the films of Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme and Jonathan Kaplan.

Personal life and career

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Northup was born in Amarillo, Texas. He lived in 17 places by age 17, but mostly in Sidney, Nebraska, 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 with Frank Corsaro in New York City.[1]

Northup received his B.A. in English from California State University, Northridge, where he studied poetry with Ann Stanford. He has made a living as an actor for over 30 years and has been in 37 films, including Martin Scorsese's first six feature films: Who's That Knocking at My Door, Boxcar Bertha, Mean Streets, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver and New York, New York. He was Mr. Bimmel in Jonathan Demme's film The Silence of the Lambs and starred in Over the Edge and Fighting Mad.[2]

Northup has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1976.[1] His second wife, poet and novelist Holly Prado, died on June 14, 2019.[3] He has a son, Dylan, by his first marriage.[4] Poets such as Walt Whitman,[5] Leland Hickman,[6] Paul Blackburn,[7] Ann Stanford,[8] William Carlos Williams,[9] and Holly Prado[10] have influenced 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 include Robert Peters, Jack Hirschman and Lewis MacAdams.[11]

Awards and honors

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The City of Los Angeles, as represented by the L.A. City Council, awarded Northup a Certificate of Recognition on November 15, 2006.[12]

Poetry

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  • Amarillo Born, Victor Jiminez Press, 1966
  • The Jon Voight 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, 2001
  • Greatest Hits, 1966–2001, Pudding House Press, 2002
  • Red Snow Fence, Cahuenga Press, 2006
  • Where Bodies Again Recline, Cahuenga Press, 2011
  • East Hollywood: Memorial To Reason, Cahuenga Press, 2015
  • Love Poem to MPTF, Cahuenga Press, 2020

Anthologies

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  • 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
  • Corners of the Mouth, A Celebration of Thirty Years at the Annual San Luis Obispo Poetry Festival, Deer Tree Press, 2014
  • Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond, Pacific Coast Poetry Series/Beyond Baroque Books, 2015
  • Coiled Serpent, Poets Arising from the Cultural Quakes & Shifts of Los Angeles, Tia Chucha Press, 2016
  • Beat Not Beat anthology, Moon Tide Press, 2022

Audio

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  • 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[13]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1967 Who's That Knocking at My Door Harry
1971 Alias Smith and Jones Hank TV Episode
1972 Boxcar Bertha Deputy Sheriff Harvey Hall
1973 Mean Streets Soldier
The All-American Boy Parker
1974 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Joe & Jim's Bartender
Crazy Mama FBI Agent
1976 Fighting Mad Sheriff Skerritt starring role
Two-Minute Warning Lieber (The S.W.A.T. Team)
Taxi Driver 'Doughboy' 1976 Palme d'Or winner at Cannes
1977 New York, New York 'Alabama'
Handle With Care The Red Baron
Which Way Is Up? Chief Goon
1978 Blue Collar Hank
1979 Over the Edge Sergeant Doberman starring role
11th Victim Officer Thorpe
1980 Tom Horn Thomas Burke
Used Cars Carmine
1982 The Day the Bubble Burst Andrew Arvay TV movie
Knots Landing Wayne Harkness TV, recurring role
1984 Nickel Mountain Frank
1986 The Deliberate Stranger Tom Hargreaves TV MiniSeries
1986 North and South: Book II Major TV miniseries
1987 Project X Congressman
1988 Kansas Governor Dellit
1991 The Silence of the Lambs Mr. Bimmel 1991 Oscar winner for Best Picture
1992 Unlawful Entry McMurtry, Desk Sergeant
Hero Mr. Fletcher
1993 Philadelphia Juror No. 6
1994 Bad Girls Preacher Sloan
Reform School Girl Uncle Charlie
1996 In Cold Blood Minister TV MiniSeries
1998 Beloved Sheriff
1998 Four Corners Tom Brothers TV series
1999 Brokedown Palace Leon Smith
2001 ER Competency Evaluator TV Episode
2002 The Court Justice Fitzsimmons TV, recurring role
2004 The Manchurian Candidate Congressman Flores
2014 That Guy Dick Miller Himself
2018 Carry Tiger to Mountain Isaac Solomon

References

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<ref>

  1. ^ a b Cinema Retro interview by Raymond Benson[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ in am/fm magazine, Mar 22, 2020:https://www.amfm-magazine.tv/harry-e-northup-from-acting-in-martin-scorsese-films-to-writing-poetry/
  3. ^ Pineda, Dorany (June 25, 2019). "Holly Prado, poet who championed L.A.'s literary scene, dies at 81". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Northup's Archives
  5. ^ LA Reader, article by James Cushing, Friday, September 3, 1982, vol 4, No. 45, p. 12
  6. ^ LA Reader, James Cushing, September 3, 1982, vol 4,#45, p. 12
  7. ^ Chiron Review, Issue 78, Spring, 2005 p.4
  8. ^ LA Reader, article by James Cushing, Friday, September 3, 1982, vol 4, No. 45, p 13]
  9. ^ Chiron Review, Issue 78, Spring, 2005, p. 4 & 5
  10. ^ Lummox Journal, July 2001, p. 11
  11. ^ Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library
  12. ^ Cinema Retro vol 5, Issue No. 14 2009 interview by Raymond Benson
  13. ^ "Private Video on Vimeo". Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
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