Jack H. Harris

Harris was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, the son of Sara and Benny Ostravsky. His mother was from Romania and his father from Poland; the latter changed the family surname to Harris. ==Career==

Early career Harris began his career in show business as a vaudeville performer in Gus Edwards' Kiddie Revue when he was six years old. He would later work in a theatre as an usher, in a publicity department, and in the distribution field, finally later taking up a career as a producer. Film production Harris is credited with coming up with the original motivation for his 1958 film, The Blob. Harris also worked on the TV series ''It's About Time and The Twilight Zone''. Distribution and retitling practices As a distributor, Harris was known for acquiring independent films and retitling them with more commercial or exploitative names to enhance their marketability. One notable example was his acquisition of the 1973 Vietnam veteran drama Just Be There, which he retitled The Swinging Teacher and remarketed as an exploitation film despite its serious dramatic content. ==Later recognition==

Harris was among the 22 people selected to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014, in the motion pictures category. 95 at the time of his unveiling ceremony held on February 4, 2014, he was the oldest person to be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame. ==Personal life==

In 1988, he married Judith "Judy" Parker; they lived in Beverly Hills. ==Death==

Harris died March 14, 2017, at his home in Beverly Hills at aged 98. ==Filmography==

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted. Film ;Miscellaneous crew ;As an actor ;As writer ;As director ;Thanks Television ;Miscellaneous crew ==Book==

In 2015, Harris published his first book, Father of the Blob: The Making of a Monster Smash & Other Hollywood Tales (TVGuestpert Publishing). ==References==