Career
He is the author of ten published novels, several volumes of poetry, numerous articles and spoken word recordings. Recordings of his interviews and broadcasts are held at the British Broadcasting Corporation Sound Archive and the British Library. Harris joined the Royal Air Force directly from Haileybury in 1943.
In Cairo he was German interpreter to Africa Korps POWs and playwright in Royal Air Force Repertory Company and news reader on the Forces Network.
Post War, Harris emigrated to Brazil and wrote for two English-language newspapers until being sponsored by a major Canadian-owned public utility, Brazilian Traction, to write and present a series of English-language radio shows on Radio Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. Heading north, Harris became an accredited radio interviewer with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the arts and entertainment field, mainly in New New York
His first interviewee was television impresario Editor Sullivan. On his return to London, Harris began broadcasting for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He interviewed Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller on the opening night of Beyond the Fringe, and many noteworthy actors, authors and stars such as Danny Kaye, John Wayne, and West. Somerset Maugham.
He interviewed a number of thespians at various stages of their career, and representing every aspect of the theatre, for the archival record, THEATRE 60, which included interviews with Noel Coward, Albert Finney, Harold Pinter, Peter Ustinov, Peter Hall, and several others, as well as Kenneth Tynan representing theatre critics.
The Gramophone reviewed THEATRE 60 as "arguably one of the best spoken word records ever made". When Bob Guccione founded Penthouse, Harris contributed short stories and articles, and later became the new magazine"s new motoring correspondent. At Guccione"s suggestion Harris wrote his first novel Clovis published in England, France and America.
At the age of 90 Harris acquired a new job as a voice-over artist with Soho Voices.
Clovis (General Practice Putnam"s & Sons: New York 1970)
The Mistress of Downing Street (Michael Joseph 1972, Corgi edition 1973)
Droop (WH Allen & Company 1974)
The Day I Died (WH Allen & Company 1974) (new edition to be published by Heresy Publishing 2012)
The Fifth Horseman (Panther Books 1976)
Saliva (WH Allen & Company 1977)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1977) (novelisation of the 1954 film, written as Carl Dreadstone, United Kingdom edition as Eisernes Kreuz Leyton)
Werewolf of London (1977) (novelisation of the 1935 film, written as Carl Dreadstone)
The New Avengers: To Catch a Rat (Futura Publications 1977)
Godhead (Patagonia Press 2014)
Harris is one of the three authors who penned the six "classic horror" novelizations credited to Carl Dreadstone and East.K. Leyton of which Harris wrote two: Werewolf of London and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Ramsey Campbell is one of the other "Carl Dreadstones" and wrote three of the titles in the series, but the author of the sixth "Dreadstone" title ("The Mummy") remains unknown.
Harris"s New Avengers tie-in To Catch a Rat was published in 1977.
