Jack Harris, who produced horror film 'The Blob,' dies at 98
Jack H. Harris, 98, a Philadelphia native who produced The Blob, the 1958 cult classic movie filmed in Chester County, died Tuesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Jack H. Harris, 98, a Philadelphia native who produced
The Blob,
the 1958 cult classic movie filmed in Chester County, died Tuesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The movie, made on a $130,000 budget and featuring not only future superstar Steve McQueen in his movie debut, but the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville and the Downingtown Diner, became an unlikely hit and oozed its way to $4 million at theaters.
Mr. Harris helped write and distribute a 1972 sequel, Beware! The Blob, directed by Larry Hagman, and produced a 1988 remake of the original.
The operators of the Colonial, which was attacked by the alien jelly and now hosts the annual Blobfest, tweeted their condolences: "We're saddened to learn of Jack Harris' passing today."
Mr. Harris also produced or help make other movies, including The Eyes of Laura Mars, starring Faye Dunaway; Schlock, the directing debut of John Landis; and Dark Star, directed by a young John Carpenter.
In 2014, he became at age 95 the oldest honoree to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The following year he published a memoir of his moviemaking journey, Father of the Blob: The Making of a Monster Smash and Other Hollywood Tales.
Mr. Harris was born in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving 1918 to immigrant parents, Benny Ostravsky Harris and Sara Bessie Liebowitz.
His show-business journey started early. He became a vaudeville performer at age 7.
After graduating from Central High School, he became a theater usher in Philadelphia and within five years he was managing 16 theaters.
He served in the Army during World War II.
After returning to Philadelphia, he worked in publicity and later started a movie distribution operation.
Mr. Harris decided to make his own movie and enlisted Irvin "Shorty" Yeaworth, a local filmmaker with a studio in Valley Forge, to be the director. The movie's climax was shot at the former Downingtown Diner.
In 2007, Mr. Harris attended the eighth annual Blobfest in Phoenixville and said McQueen was difficult to work with.
"He was an absolute horror, but I loved everything he did for us," Mr. Harris said.
Various names for the movie were bandied about: The Night of the Creeping Dread, The Glob That Girdled the Globe, and The Glob.
Finally, Harris came up with The Blob, Yeaworth told the Associated Press in 1995.
The filmmakers sold The Blob to Paramount Pictures for $300,000.
Mr. Harris is survived by his wife, Judith Parker Harris; daughter Lynda Resnick; and son Anthony.
A memorial service is scheduled for Monday at Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
The next three-day Blobfest starts July 14.
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