Hollywood and Broadway are mourning the loss of veteran actor Harris Yulin, who has died aged 88 following a heart attack. His death was confirmed by both his family and longtime manager Sue Leibman. The actor passed away in New York on Tuesday (June 11). Best known to film fans for his memorable roles in Scarface and Ghostbusters II, Yulin carved out a career spanning six decades across stage and screen.
While his film credits earned him global recognition, Yulin was also a celebrated figure in theatre circles. He starred in major Broadway productions including Hedda Gabler, The Price, The Visit, and Watch on the Rhine. Known for his distinctive voice and commanding presence, Yulin was a star both on the big screen, small screen or stage. Yulin’s impact extended far beyond film and Broadway, with a television career that spanned decades. He earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1996 for his role as crime boss Jerome Belasco on Frasier, and he had a recurring part on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
He also played a major role in Ozark and appeared in hit series such as Veep, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, And Just Like That, Billions, Divorce, and WIOU.
Although his Broadway debut came in 1980 with Watch on the Rhine, Yulin had first stepped onto the New York stage in 1963 in James Saunders’ Next Time I’ll Sing to You.
He went on to appear in numerous productions including The Visit, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Price, and his final Broadway role in Hedda Gabler in 2001.
He was also a respected presence off-Broadway, performing in Long Day’s Journey Into Night in Chicago, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Death of a Salesman. He also starred in Arthur Miller’s final play, Finishing the Picture.
Yulin was also an accomplished director. At Bay Street Theater, he helmed Men’s Lives by Joe Pintauro and directed several other plays including The Glass Menagerie,
The Trip to Bountiful, This Lime Tree Bower, and The Man Who Came to Dinner. He taught for eight years at Juilliard and also at Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts and HB Studios.
In his final weeks, Yulin had been preparing to begin filming American Classic, an MGM+ series directed by Michael Hoffman and co-starring Kevin Kline and Laura Linney. Hoffman, who worked with Yulin on Game 6, paid tribute to him in a statement.
“Harris Yulin was very simply one of the greatest artists I have ever encountered,” he said. “His marriage of immense technique with an always fresh sense of discovery, gave his work an immediacy and vitality and purity I’ve experienced no where else.
“And what he was as an actor, he was as a man, the grace, the humility, the generosity. 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 wife Kristen Lowman, son in law Ted Mineo, nephew Martin Crane, and godchildren Marco and Lara Greenberg. He was predeceased by his daughter, actress Claire Lucido.