David Harris, the actor known for playing Cochise in the Walter Hill-helmed 1979 cult classic The Warriors, has died. He was 75.
The actor died Friday at his New York City home after he was diagnosed with cancer, his daughter Davina Harris disclosed to The New York Times. David is also survived by his mother, three siblings and two grandchildren.
Having accumulated more than 50 onscreen credits since 1976, Harris was most known for portraying the gang member Cochise in The Warriors, about a New York City street gang that ends up in a turf battle when they’re framed for the murder of a rival gang leader.
Although the film was met with negative reviews at the time, The Warriors turned out to be a box office success and has since been praised by fans and critics alike. Lin-Manuel Miranda is currently adapting the film into a stage musical, having released a concept album last week.
“We thought it was a little film that would run its little run and go, and nobody would ever talk about it again,” said Harris of the film in a 2019 interview for ADAMICradio. “I was in Hong Kong, I was in the Philippines, I was in Tokyo. I’ve done a lot of movies, but I get off the plane and people go, ‘It’s the guy from The Warriors.’”
Michael Beck and David Harris in The Warriors (1979). (Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Born June 18, 1949 in New York City, Harris attended Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts (now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School) before making his debut in the 1976 TV movie Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys.
Harris also appeared in such films as Brubaker (1980), Quicksilver (1986) and Fatal Beauty (1987), as well as episodes of MacGyver, Hill Street Blues, The Equalizer, ER, NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Elementary, Instinct and First Wives Club.