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David Harris, the actor best known for playing Cochise in Walter Hill’s 1979 film The Warriors, died at his New York City home on October 25, 2024. He was 75. His daughter, Davina Harris, disclosed the news to The New York Times; cancer was reported as the cause, according to the Dallas Morning News obituary.
Who was David Harris?
Harris was a New York-born performer whose screen career spanned film and television. Born in New York City on June 18, 1949, he made his film debut as Cochise in The Warriors, the role that brought him to Hollywood’s attention, according to the Television Academy.
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The Warriors (Blu-ray + digital copy) | $14.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Warriors (Standard Special Edition) [Blu-ray] | $27.55 | Buy on Amazon |
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His path to that signature part began before the 1979 film. The Independent reports that he studied at Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts and later the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the 1976 television film Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys, he played Haywood Patterson in what the newspaper describes as his first major role. The film was based on Sol Yurick’s novel.
Why is Harris remembered as Cochise in The Warriors?
In Hill’s film, Harris played Cochise, one of the members of the Warriors navigating a dangerous journey through New York City. Harris’s connection to the city was part of why he won the role, the Dallas Morning News obituary reports. The film became a cult classic, and Cochise remains the performance most closely associated with Harris.
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Harris later returned to the character by voicing Cochise in the 2005 video-game adaptation of The Warriors, according to the obituary. It was a reprise of the role that launched his film career, in a different medium.
What else did David Harris act in?
His career extended well beyond the film that made him widely recognizable. The Television Academy’s career listing includes film appearances in Brubaker, A Soldier’s Story and Fatal Beauty, as well as television work in Hill Street Blues, North & South, Crime Story, NYPD Blue and Elementary. Those credits reflect decades of work across both film and television, alongside the enduring attention his role as Cochise continued to draw.
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Harris on the legacy of The Warriors
In a 2014 interview on The Five Count, quoted by the Dallas Morning News obituary, Harris reflected on being part of a film with lasting recognition:
“It feels great to know that you’re a part of some film that’s history. Certain actors are blessed enough to get in a film that is just iconic and people are going to talk about for the next thousand years.”
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The Warriors (Ultimate Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]
- Condition: New
- Format: Blu-ray
- AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen
His later return to Cochise in the game adaptation offered one more connection to the part. Harris’s broader film and television credits, meanwhile, show a career not limited to that single iconic role.
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