Martin Harris of acting Fame - You guess which joker he is.
Tribute to an Old FriendOCTOBER 29, 2012My Friend Martin
(credit: from https://msfitproductions.wordpress.com/tag/martin-harris/) Martin Harris as Scrooge, Diana Grogg as The Ghost of Christmas Past Today, I am looking at the memorial I’m planning for my friend Martin. Martin played Scrooge for years, first by himself in a one man show–of which he got to perform in Dickens own house three feet from where Dickens died. For eleven years he performed at The Great Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco. I was his Ghost of Christmas Past for six Fairs. What a grand time we had, too. When Martin had to return to England to care for his father, he would return to San Francisco each year to perform Scrooge for Dickens. On Christmas Eve as he flew home, he would be allowed on the speaker system of the plane and would read the last chapter of “A Christmas Carol” out loud to the passengers. Later in the evening he would perform his one man show at The Leather Bottle Inn and Pub, one of Charles Dickens hangouts. While here in San Francisco he would perform his one man show at the Berkeley City Club and The Freight and Salvage. Martin had also performed at The Renaissance Pleasure Faire for many years in the 1970’s, 1980’s and I believe 1990’s. He performed in his last Renaissance Faire Fall of 2012. He performed in 2011 for Old Sacramento Days. When Martin first came down with prostate cancer he was frightened, but he met it head one with his usual faith and cheerfulness. He went into remission after a four-hour operation where he nearly bled to death. He was in remission for a couple of years. During this time, he became the spokesman in England for men getting their prostate exams. Prevention, prevention, prevention he preached. Though he was always a cheerful lad, he had his stresses. Stress is a great cause of many types of cancer coming out of remission. Unfortunately, Martin’s returned. What I learned about prostate cancer is, when it returns it will metastasize into the bones and is usually fatal. Martin’s doctor wanted him to do radiation. Radiation frightened Martin so he became bent on curing it with a natural diet, a consumable type of hydrogen peroxide flush, vitamins, prayer and exercise. He followed Phillip Day and practiced the health guidance of this man, a leading player in the homeopathic industry. In then end, it spread to his lymph system and had started in the bones. The part of Scrooge was recast in San Francisco and he felt that all had been taken from him and, though he maintained his innate cheerfulness, the loss of that role was a final blow for him and he went downhill from there. He tried one bout of Chemo at his doctor’s urging, but he was too weak and his body too clean from the healthy diet to take it. Martin passed from this world on October 23rd 12:55AM PST. 8:55AM their time. My one regret is that I was not able to talk to him as I cannot call overseas. He was too weak to do email in the end. I love you my dear friend. I know that now, you have finally found true peace. 5 THOUGHTS ON “MY FRIEND MARTIN”
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This Christmas (2008) will be the 10th year in a row that Martin Harris has played Ebenezer Scrooge at a Charles Dickens themed fair in the US. He told reporter MICHAEL PURTON why the role means so much to him.
For 61-year-old Martin, “playing Scrooge is a chance to spread a positive message, to really reach people”. The resident of White Hill Road, Gravesend, said: “Charles Dickens’ gift to us today is to remind us through A Christmas Carol that the real purpose of life is to make other people happy, not to only think of one’s self. “I hope that when people watch my performance as Scrooge they stop and think about their own life, and whether they need to reassess their values.” Martin was living in San Francisco when he auditioned to play Scrooge at the fair in 1999. Raised in Park Avenue, Gravesend, Martin had first fallen in love with acting when he starred in a school production of Aladdin at 11-years-old. He moved to the US in 1976 to pursue a career in acting, and while there he appeared on stage and screen, including a part in the Hollywood film Battle Beyond the Stars. When he auditioned to portray Scrooge in the fair, he had already played the old miser in various stage productions, and his familiarity in the role landed him the part. His performance at the fair in 1999 and 2000 impressed the organizers so much that when he and his wife Anna decided to move back to Gravesend in 2001, they went to great lengths to make sure he could continue to appear. Each year they pay to fly Martin out to San Francisco before the fair and home again on Christmas Eve, and this annual flight has created a tradition of its own. Martin said: “On the plane on the way back to England each Christmas Eve, as we are getting ready to land, I do a dramatic reading of the last scene from A Christmas Carol for the passengers. “They always enjoy it and say it has really got them into the Christmas spirit. Positive reactions like that are why I enjoy playing Scrooge so much, and why I have no plans to stop performing at the fair anytime soon.” For more details on the fair go to dickensfair.com |
Captain Barnard of His Majesty's Service
Captain Barnard with Ruby Hummingbird (alias Debbie) in a past life as a peasant lass. Brittany, Child of the Shire, provided her presence and comic relief. These adventurers have been reported at numerous faires and pirate festivals about the land.
First seen at the Agoura Faire in the 1980s and subsequently frequently seen at the Southern and Northern Renaissance Faires of California.
the Captain and his lady are mourners of the Black Point Faire who visited the Novato and the Hollister, Ca Faires following .
First seen at the Agoura Faire in the 1980s and subsequently frequently seen at the Southern and Northern Renaissance Faires of California.
the Captain and his lady are mourners of the Black Point Faire who visited the Novato and the Hollister, Ca Faires following .
The Three Stooges...I mean, Muskateers
The Three Stooges (John, David,and Barnard) guarding Brittany of the Shire while her maid is away.
John became a Lord of Science and Magiks at the Southern Faire in Covina, Ca. His Guild still performed feats of wonder and catapult demonstrations. His passing into the Nether Relms was as mysterious as his magiks.
David relocated to Washington and travelled the world in quests with Lady Nancy as an ardent world traveler and ombudsman to the world for years. Alas his demise has been reported and all in the Realm mourned.