Actor Ron Harper gained notoriety for his parts in television series such as Garrison’s Gorillas, Planet of the Apes, and Land of the Lost.
Date of Death: March 21, 2024 (March 21: Did anyone else die on that day?)
Cause of Death: He died at home in West Hills, California, at the age of 91 from natural causes.
Ron Harper’s legacy
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Ron Harper began his acting career. One of his early breaks came on Broadway, where he had the opportunity to assist Paul Newman (1925–2008) in the play Sweet Bird of Youth. However, most of Harper’s success came through television.
He landed a lead role in the 1961 series 87th Precinct, where he played Detective Bert Kling in a serious police drama. He later appeared alongside Connie Stevens and George Burns (1896–1996) in Wendy and Me, and went on to play the son of Jean Arthur (1900–1991) in The Jean Arthur Show.
Ron Harper’s next starring role turned out to be his personal favorite—and a fan favorite as well. He played the lead in the 1978 World War II drama Garrison’s Gorillas. The show, reminiscent of The Dirty Dozen, featured Harper as a military officer in charge of a commando unit made up of convicted prisoners on parole. Although the series was well-received, it lasted only one season. Harper believed it was canceled due to its level of violence.
His next role was in the TV version of *Planet of the Apes*, another promising series that was regrettably cancelled after only 14 episodes. One of the astronauts who crash-lands on a future Earth was played by Harper. Unlike the apes he played in the original film series, Roddy McDowall (1928–1998) played a different role in the film.
Ron harper In the third and last season of *Land of the Lost*, Harper played Uncle Jack and joined the cast.
Additionally, he played regular and recurring parts in a number of soap operas, such as *Generations*, *Another World*, and *Loving*. A wide variety of popular television programs, including *Love, American Style*, *Remington Steele*, *Beverly Hills, 90210*, *Walker, Texas Ranger*, *The West Wing*, and *Cold Case*, featured him.
Harper has acted in films like *The Wild Season*, *The Odd Couple II*, and *Pearl Harbour* in addition to his TV work.
Ron Harper on the failure of “Planet of the Apes”
Harper’s explanation for “Planet of the Apes” “It became incredibly monotonous. Jim Naughton, Roddy McDowall, or I would be captured every week, and the other two would save the day. I repeatedly emphasised to the producers that this was simply not realistic—apes don’t really talk, wear clothing, or shoot guns. Beyond merely taking turns being rescued from the apes, we had a whole universe of stories to discover.
— An unsuccessful 2015 interview with *Classic Film and TV Café*