Harris Yulin, the Emmy-nominated actor best known for his menacing roles in iconic films such as “Scarface” and “Ghostbusters II,” has died. He was 87.
Yulin died of cardiac arrest on Tuesday, June 10 in New York City, Deadline reported. The actor’s death was announced by his family and manager Sue Leibman.
Yulin was born on Nov. 5, 1937 in Los Angeles, California, his IMDb biography states.
Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Yulin appeared in more than 100 film and television productions including “Night Moves,” “St. Ives,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Looking for Richard,” “Bean,” “The Hurricane” and “Training Day.”
Yulin’s most notable performances were as Chief Detective Mel Bernstein in 1983’s “Scarface” and as Judge Stephen Wexler in 1989’s “Ghostbusters II.” The actor received an Emmy Award nomination in 1996 for his work on “Fraiser,” in which he starred as Jerome Belasco in the episode titled, ”A Word to the Wiseguy.”
He also had notable roles on series including “Cagney & Lacey,” “The X-Files,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Ozark,” where he appeared in 12 episodes.
A lifelong stage actor, Yulin made his New York stage debut in James Saunders’ 1963 production of “Next Time I’ll Sing to You.” His Broadway debut came in the early 1980s.
Yulin went on to appear in celebrated productions such as “Hedda Gabler,” “The Price” and “The Diary of Anne Frank.” He also won a Lucille Lortel Award for directing “The Trip to Bountiful” and received Drama Desk nominations, the Guardian reported.
Before his death, Yulin was set to star in the upcoming MGM+ series “American Classic,” which stars Kevin Kline and Laura Linney. Yulin was set to play Linus Bean, father to Kline’s character in the show. Kline stars as Richard Bean, a Broadway actor who has a meltdown and comes home to the town of Millersburg, where his father founded a local theater.
“Harris Yulin was very simply one of the greatest artists I have ever encountered,” director Michael Hoffman said of the late actor, according to Deadline.
“His marriage of immense technique with an always fresh sense of discovery, gave his work an immediacy and vitality and purity I’ve experienced nowhere else. And what he was as an actor, he was as a man, the grace, the humility, the generosity,” Hoffman said. “All of us at ‘American Classic’ have been blessed by our experience with him. He will always remain the beating heart of our show.”
Yulin is survived by his wife, Kristen Lowman, son-in-law Ted Mineo, nephew Martin Crane, and godchildren Marco and Lara Greenberg, Deadline reported.
