'Planet of the Apes' Star Dead at 91: Ron Harper's Daughter Confirms His Passing
Harper passed away at home due to natural causes, according to his family.
Actor Ron Harper passed away on Thursday, March 21 at the age of 91. His daughter, Nicole Longeuay told The Hollywood Reporter that Harper died of natural causes. He leaves behind an incredible body of work including The 1970s adventure series Planet of the Apes and Land of the Lost.
Harper was born in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania – a town near Pittsburgh – in 1933. He attended Princeton University and fell in love with acting, though he was sidetracked by service in the U.S. Navy. When he returned home he moved to New York City and sought work on Broadway, which took several years. His big break came as the understudy for Paul Newman in a 1959 production of Sweet Bird of Youth. After that, he moved to Hollywood for his first TV role.
Harper broke into the TV industry with guest appearances on numerous TV shows, from dramas and serials to soap operas. However, Planet of the Apes (1974) is likely the first role where fans would recognize him as a regular. The show was based on both the 1963 novel and the 1968 film by the same name, and Harper played Colonel Alan Virdon, the commander of a spaceship that had crash-landed in the setting. The show only got one season with 14 episodes in total, but it was very memorable at the time and it has kept a cult following over the years.
Harper mused on the failure of this series in an interview for Tom Weaver's 2008 book I Talked With a Zombie. He said: "Our Planet of the Apes stories degenerated into The Fugitive with fur. I think that's one of the things that curtailed what should have been a longer run." Still, Harper got a foothold in that genre which helped score him his role on Land of the Lost two years later – though the target demographic was notably younger. In this adventure series for children, Harper played Jack Marshall, taking over as patriarch of the fictional family in Season 3.
Some of Harper's movie credits in the years that followed included The Wild Season and Pearl Harbor, while notable TV credits include Melrose Place, Walker Texas Ranger and The West Wing. Harper is survived by his daughter, his son-in-law and his granddaughters Ronnie and Harper, as well as his ex-wife Shirly. Fans are reflecting on Harper's legacy all across social media.