Julie Ann Harris

Julie Harris, celebrated Broadway star and big-screen actress, died at her home on Saturday, August 24, 2013. TV fans will recognize Julie as Lilimae Clements from the nighttime soap opera “Knots Landing.” She’s also famous for playing Queen Victoria in the 1961 production of “Victoria Regina,” for which she won an Emmy.

Her Broadway and film appearances are too numerous to list; one of the film roles for which people best remember her is starring opposite James Dean in the 1955 film “East of Eden.” While her television and movie career spanned more than 50 years, she never lost her passion for the stage, appearing in more than 30 Broadway plays, as well as countless Off Broadway and regional productions. Some of Julie’s best-remembered roles were her solo performances, including playing Emily Dickinson in “the Bell of Amherst,” Charlotte Bronte in “Currer Bell” and Mary Todd Lincoln in “The Last of Mrs. Lincoln.”

Julie garnered much recognition for her talent, receiving 10 Tony Award nominations - more than any other performer - and she’s tied with Angela Lansbury and Audra McDonald for the most Tony Award wins (5). Julie has won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theater, and she won a Grammy Award for her Spoken Word Recording of “The Bell of Amherst,” a one-woman play. She’s been nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, and Julie has won 3 times.

In her later years, Julie remained active, recently narrating five historical documentaries, as well as being an active director on the board of the independent Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater.

Julie was the middle child of three, born to a father who was an investment banker and a mother who was a nurse. Both parents had a passion for theater, and Julie began attending performances when her family when she was just a child. She found her passion for acting at a young age, and attended Yale School of Drama for a time in the 40s, and trained at the Perry-Mansfield School of Dance and Theater, as well as the Actors Studio.

In her personal life, Julie was married and divorced three times. She is survived by her son, Peter Alston Gurian.