Biography

Born in Ireland in 1856 of Welsh parents, Harris became a noted writer as well as a friend and confidante of the elite literati of his day including fellow Irishmen Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and George Bernard Shaw in addition to Guy de Maupassant, Matthew Arnold, Aleister Cowley, and James Thurber. His varied career includes credits as a reporter (during the Boer War), editor (of the London Evening News), publisher, short story writer, novelist, playwright, biographer (of Shaw and Wilde), and Shakesperean scholar. However, his only enduring fame comes from his controversial, sexually explicit memoir, "My Life and Loves."

Emigrating to the United States in 1871, Harris attended the University of Kansas and spent time as a cowhand on the Great Plains. He initially included this portion of his life in his memoirs, but they were later published under the title "My Reminisences as a Cowboy," which became the basis for the Delmar Daves' 1958 "Cowboy" starring Glenn Ford with Jack Lemmon as the young Harris.

Harris traveled throughout Continental Europe and England (1879-1887), where he began his writing career and associations with the great literary figures of his time. He published his first short story in 1891. A 1913 story, "The Magic Glasses," became the basis of a 1934 Technicolor MGM short, "The Spectacle Maker."

Harris returned to the States and became a U.S. citizen in 1921. Three times married, he suffered from legal, financial, and health problems during the latter part of his life. During his last decade he released multiple volumes of "My Life and Loves," including the infamous, sexually explicit first volume, published privately in France in 1922, chronicling his libidinous escapades in graphic detail replete with photographs of his naked paramours.

Further installments followed and a fifth volume was published posthumously in 1931. Harris biographers have pointed out numerous cases of Harris' exaggerating important biographical details and, in some cases, fabricating entire episodes. Ironoically his prodigious literary output is largely forgotten with the exception of his salacious memoir.
- IMDb mini biography by: Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)

George Bernard Shaw mischievously said of him that he had been "invited to all the best houses in London - once".

Leonard Rossiter played in a 1978 television play by Andrew Davies, entitled "Fearless Frank: Tit-Bits From The Life Of An Adventurer". Rossiter played Harris from babyhood to deathbed, with no change whatever in his appearance, which included a moustache. The play was later adapted for the stage.

I am, really, a great writer; my only difficulty is finding readers.

Strong people are made by opposition, like kites that go up against the wind.

Memoirs are a well-known form of fiction.

Casanova! My dear man, Casanova is not worthy to untie my bootstrings.

Sex is the gateway to life.