British actor and model Alan Harris succumbed to cancer at the age of 81.
Alan Harris was born on May 28, 1938 in Enfield, Middlesex, London, England. Harris worked as a male model before going on to embark on a career in both films and television as an extra and stand-in. In addition to being Anthony Daniels’ stand-in in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, he was the bounty hunter Bossk and a Bespin security guard in The Empire Strikes Back and a stormtrooper in all three of the original Star Wars movies. He was part of Princess Leia’s rebel escort in Star Wars: A New Hope.
His geek credentials didn’t stop there. He was in five episodes of Dr. Who, three with Colin Baker as a Vervoid and two with Tom Baker as a Sevateem council member. He was a scientist in the movie Morons from Outer Space. He appeared in Hellraiser and was a general in Flash Gordon. He was a policeman in the Disney comedy One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, and a Londoner in the musical Scrooge, starring Sir Alec Guinness (Obi-wan Kenobi in Star Wars) as Jacob Marley’s ghost. His TV appearances include roles in UFO, Space 1999, and The Avengers. In addition to Superman and The Living Daylights, Harris appeared in five of the popular Carry On movies.
Metro News confirmed that Alan Harris died Saturday, January 25, 2020 of lung cancer. He was a popular, genial guest at science fiction conventions. Imperial Signings described him as “a true gent and a fan favorite.”
Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back) said, “We were so sorry to hear about Alan Harris – he was one of the nicest guys we have met – he was so modest and so very good with all the fans – he will be greatly missed.”
Our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.
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Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
