Movies

Harry E. Northup (born September 2, 1940) is an American actor and poet. As an actor, he made frequent appearances in the films of Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Demme.

Personal life and career
Northup was born in Amarillo, Texas. He lived in 17 places by age 17, but mostly in Sidney, Nebraska, where he graduated from high school in 1958. From 1958 to 1961 he served in the United States Navy, where he attained the rank of Second Class Radioman. From 1963 to 1968, he studied Method acting with Frank Corsaro in New York City.

Northup received his B.A. in English from California State University, Northridge, where he studied poetry with Ann Stanford. He has made a living as an actor for over 30 years and has been in 37 films, including Martin Scorsese's first six feature films: Who's That Knocking at My Door, Boxcar Bertha, Mean Streets, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver and New York, New York. He was Mr. Bimmel in Jonathan Demme's film The Silence of the Lambs and starred in Over the Edge and Fighting Mad.

Northup has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1976. His second wife, poet and novelist Holly Prado, died on June 14, 2019. He has a son, Dylan, by his first marriage. Poets such as Walt Whitman, Leland Hickman, Paul Blackburn, Ann Stanford, William Carlos Williams, and Holly Prado have influenced Northup's poetry. He conceived and coordinated the weekly poetry reading series "Poetry on Melrose" at Gasoline Alley in Los Angeles, from 1986 to 1988. Poets who read at the venue include Robert Peters, Jack Hirschman and Lewis MacAdams.