Hari Rhodes
Biography
Hari Rhodes (April 10, 1932 – January 15, 1992) was an American author and actor whose career spanned three decades beginning around 1960.
He was sometimes billed as Harry Rhodes and appeared in 66 films and television programs, such as ABC's 1963 TV medical drama series about psychiatry Breaking Point.
In 1960, Rhodes appeared in five television series: General Electric Theater, hosted by Ronald Reagan; The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Have Gun, Will Travel, starring Richard Boone, The Westerner, starring Brian Keith; and in two episodes of Adventures in Paradise, starring Gardner McKay.
In 1961, he was cast in an episode of ABC's Hawaii-based drama, Follow the Sun. In 1963, he played a patrolman in "Death of a Cop" on CBS's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
From 1966–69, Rhodes was a regular on Daktari as Mike Makula. In 1969, he starred in the short-lived series The Bold Ones: The Protectors. His most notable television role came in 1977 in the ABC miniseries, Roots, in which he was cast as a leader of Kunta Kinte's village. He had a pioneering role as an African-American in science-fiction television.
His portrayal of one Lt. Ernie Travers, a member of a lunar exploration team in the "Moonstone" episode of The Outer Limits (1964), antedated Nichelle Nichols' portrayal of a black member (Lt. Uhura) of a space exploration crew on Star Trek. In 1985, he appeared as the character Mr. Wanda in Magnum P.I. in the episode titled "Old Acquaintance".
His early film roles included appearances in The Nun and the Sergeant (1962), Drums of Africa (1963), Shock Corridor (1963), The Satan Bug (1965), and Mirage (1965). In 1966, he played a supporting role as Captain Davis in the successful suspense-comedy motion picture Blindfold, starring Rock Hudson and Claudia Cardinale.
He also played Mr. MacDonald, who aids Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and was the star of the blaxploitation film Detroit 9000 (1973). His later film credits included Mayday at 40,000 Feet! (1976), The Hostage Heart (1977), Coma (1978), and the Burt Reynolds cop thriller Sharky's Machine (1981).
