Hari Rhodes
Encyclopedia
Hari Rhodes was an American
author
and actor
whose career spanned three decades beginning around 1960.
He was sometimes billed as Harry Rhodes and appeared in sixty-six film
s or television
programs, such as ABC
's medical drama
about psychiatry
, Breaking Point. Most of his appearances were in minor roles, according to IMDB.
interview, Rhodes described growing up in a rough section of Cincinnati: "We lived between the railroad tracks and the river bank. The flood ran us out every winter but we'd always come back, kick out the mud and settle down again until flood time. All the boys had to learn how to hop freights and throw pieces of coal off. All I ever knew was rats, roaches and poverty."
When he was 15, Rhodes spent two months learning to copy his mother's signature and forged it on enlistment papers to join the U.S. Marine Corps
.
In the Marines, Rhodes was a member of his camp's judo
team for two years. He eventually gained the rank of sergeant and served in Korea
, where he led a reconnaissance platoon behind enemy lines.
"The time I got wounded at the Chosan Reservoir
, a Chinese came running toward me," Rhodes told TV Guide. "My Thompson submachine gun
was unloaded. I threw it down so he wouldn't shoot. His face almost smiled. He had his bayonet on my chest. He began slashing my arms. I got him with an 8-inch knife."
(1977), as a leader of Kunta Kinte
's village. He had a pioneering role as an African-American in science fiction television. His portrayal of a Lt. Travers, member of a lunar
exploration team in the "Moonstone" episode of The Outer Limits
(1964), pre-dated Nichelle Nichols
' portrayal of a black member (Lt. Uhura) of a space exploration crew on Star Trek
. His biggest early role was as Mike, the second male lead on the veterinary drama Daktari
, which ran on CBS
from 1966-1969. He played Mr. MacDonald, who aids Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
(1972); in 1973 he was the star of the blaxploitation
film Detroit 9000
.
.
"I read about a training program a major studio had for grooming people for 'stardom.' Being naive about the system, I got on the phone and called the man in charge and asked if he would interview me, and he told me to come around to the studio," Rhodes told TV Guide in 1968. "I said, 'By the way, I think I should tell you that I am a Negro.' He said, 'Don't waste your time — we don't take Negroes in this program.' I hung up the phone. Almost tore the cradle off the thing."
Rhodes channeled his anger into a novel, A Chosen Few, which was published in a paperback edition. A Chosen Few was described as "an explosive personal portrait of what (Rhodes) saw and lived through in the heart of the South in the last all-Negro Marine boot camp." The novel's uneducated hero remarks, "Bitterness … is a consuming, cancerous quality out of which comes nothing but self-destruction, while out of an anger can come many constructive things, if nothing more than the drive to get something done."
Rhodes later penned two unpublished novels: Harambee, about a man with a plan to liquidate the world's entire Caucasian population, and Land of Odds, about Hollywood.
Rhodes told TV Guide that writing served as his safety valve. "I'd rather be writing my own than reading somebody else's. I have no need for it." Rhodes said.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
whose career spanned three decades beginning around 1960.
He was sometimes billed as Harry Rhodes and appeared in sixty-six film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s or television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programs, such as ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
about psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, Breaking Point. Most of his appearances were in minor roles, according to IMDB.
Early life
In a 1968 TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
interview, Rhodes described growing up in a rough section of Cincinnati: "We lived between the railroad tracks and the river bank. The flood ran us out every winter but we'd always come back, kick out the mud and settle down again until flood time. All the boys had to learn how to hop freights and throw pieces of coal off. All I ever knew was rats, roaches and poverty."
When he was 15, Rhodes spent two months learning to copy his mother's signature and forged it on enlistment papers to join the U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
.
In the Marines, Rhodes was a member of his camp's judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
team for two years. He eventually gained the rank of sergeant and served in Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, where he led a reconnaissance platoon behind enemy lines.
"The time I got wounded at the Chosan Reservoir
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign ,Official Chinese sources refer to this battle as the Second Phase Campaign Eastern Sector . The Western Sector is the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. was a decisive battle in the Korean War...
, a Chinese came running toward me," Rhodes told TV Guide. "My Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
was unloaded. I threw it down so he wouldn't shoot. His face almost smiled. He had his bayonet on my chest. He began slashing my arms. I got him with an 8-inch knife."
Acting career
His most notable role was on the TV miniseries RootsRoots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...
(1977), as a leader of Kunta Kinte
Kunta Kinte
Kunta Kinte is the central character of the novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by American author Alex Haley, and of the television miniseries Roots, based on the book. Haley described his book as faction - a mixture of fact and fiction...
's village. He had a pioneering role as an African-American in science fiction television. His portrayal of a Lt. Travers, member of a lunar
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
exploration team in the "Moonstone" episode of The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
(1964), pre-dated Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols is an American actress, singer and voice artist. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting...
' portrayal of a black member (Lt. Uhura) of a space exploration crew on Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
. His biggest early role was as Mike, the second male lead on the veterinary drama Daktari
Daktari
Daktari is an American children's drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series, an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television, stars Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Centre for Animal Behaviour in East...
, which ran on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1966-1969. He played Mr. MacDonald, who aids Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. It explores how the apes rebelled from mankind's ill treatment following Escape from the Planet of...
(1972); in 1973 he was the star of the blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film Detroit 9000
Detroit 9000
Detroit 9000 is a 1973 American cult film directed by Arthur Marks from a screenplay by Orville Hampton. Originally marketed as a blaxploitation film, it had a resurgence on video 25 years later.-Plot:...
.
Acting, and racism's effect on his writing
Rhodes first television role was in a 1957 episode of Zane Grey Theater that starred Sammy Davis Jr. The role came just one year after Rhodes had received a rude lesson in racial prejudiceRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
.
"I read about a training program a major studio had for grooming people for 'stardom.' Being naive about the system, I got on the phone and called the man in charge and asked if he would interview me, and he told me to come around to the studio," Rhodes told TV Guide in 1968. "I said, 'By the way, I think I should tell you that I am a Negro.' He said, 'Don't waste your time — we don't take Negroes in this program.' I hung up the phone. Almost tore the cradle off the thing."
Rhodes channeled his anger into a novel, A Chosen Few, which was published in a paperback edition. A Chosen Few was described as "an explosive personal portrait of what (Rhodes) saw and lived through in the heart of the South in the last all-Negro Marine boot camp." The novel's uneducated hero remarks, "Bitterness … is a consuming, cancerous quality out of which comes nothing but self-destruction, while out of an anger can come many constructive things, if nothing more than the drive to get something done."
Rhodes later penned two unpublished novels: Harambee, about a man with a plan to liquidate the world's entire Caucasian population, and Land of Odds, about Hollywood.
Rhodes told TV Guide that writing served as his safety valve. "I'd rather be writing my own than reading somebody else's. I have no need for it." Rhodes said.
Further reading
- Hobson, Dick. (1968, April 20–26). "On Maneuvers With Hari Rhodes". TV Guide, p. 18-19.