Biography
Harry E. Northup has worked as an actor for 30 years, appearing in 37 films such as Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976) (winner of the 1976 Palme d'Or at Cannes), Fighting Mad (1976) (lead role), Citizens Band (1977), Blue Collar (1978), Over the Edge (1979) (lead role), Tom Horn (1980), Used Cars (1980), Kansas (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) (Oscar for Best Picture), Philadelphia (1993), Bad Girls (1994), Beloved (1998), and the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate.
He has also appeared in 43 television shows, including guest spots on ER (1994), a recurring role on The Court (2002), the CBS mini-series In Cold Blood, The Deliberate Stranger (1986), The Day the Bubble Burst (1982), and a recurring role on Knots Landing (1979).
Since 1976, Harry has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In addition to acting, Harry is a distinguished American poet with nine published books: Amarillo Born (Victor Jiminez Press, 1966); the jon voight poems (Mt. Alverno Press, 1973); Eros ASsh (Momentum Press, 1976); Enough The Great Running Chapel (Momentum Press, 1982); the images we possess kill the capturing (the jesse press, 1988); The Ragged Vertical (Cahuenga Press, 1996); Reunions (Cahuenga Press, 2001); Greatest Hits, 1966-2001 (Pudding House Press, 2002); and Red Snow Fence (Cahuenga Press, 2006).
He earned a B.A. in English from California State University, Northridge, where he studied poetry under Ann Stanford.
Harry Northup’s professional and personal archives—including manuscripts, journals, scripts, correspondence, and other materials—were acquired by U.C.S.D., La Jolla, on November 18, 2002. They are preserved at the Mandeville Special Collections Library, U.C.S.D., 0175-S, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, for purposes of research, instruction, and preservation.
His son Dylan resides in Wisconsin.
Harry lives in East Hollywood with his wife, Holly Prado Northup, a writer and educator.
