Rodney Harvey
{{short description|American actor (1967–1998)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rodney Harvey
| image = Rodney Harvey.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = Rodney Michael Harvey
| birth_date = {{birth date|1967|7|31|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|4|11|1967|7|31|mf=y}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| resting_place = Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Actor
- singer
- dancer
- model}}
| years_active = 1985–1996
}}
Rodney Michael Harvey (July 31, 1967 – April 11, 1998) was an American actor, model, singer and dancer.
Career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harvey was discovered by director Paul Morrissey in 1984. Morrissey cast Harvey in two of his films Mixed Blood (1984) and Spike of Bensonhurst (1988).{{cite book|last=Yacowar|first=Maurice|title=The Films of Paul Morrissey|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|pages=[https://archive.org/details/filmsofpaulmorri00yaco/page/108 108, 110]|isbn=0-521-38993-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/filmsofpaulmorri00yaco/page/108}} Harvey attended South Philadelphia High School through the 11th grade, but dropped out to pursue a movie career.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179282645/|title=Obituaries, Rodney M. Harvey|date=April 17, 1998|work=Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=October 8, 2021}} After signing with an agent, Harvey moved to Los Angeles where he continued acting and also began modelling. He appeared in a layout for Life magazine featuring Madonna photographed by Bruce Webber and worked for Calvin Klein.{{cite journal|last=Millea|first=Holly |title=Shooting Star|journal=Premiere|pages=124}}
In 1990, he landed the role of Sodapop Curtis in the Fox series The Outsiders. After the series ended after one season, Harvey guest starred on Twin Peaks, followed by a role in the Gus Van Sant film My Own Private Idaho. Harvey also appeared in the 1988 film Salsa alongside Draco Rosa. He made his last onscreen appearance in 1996 with a role in the drama God's Lonely Man.
Death
During the making of My Own Private Idaho, Harvey began using heroin.{{cite journal|last=Millea|first=Holly |title=Shooting Star|journal=Premiere|pages=140}} After several stints in jail and attempts to get clean, he died of a heroin and cocaine overdose on April 11, 1998, at the Hotel Barbizon in Los Angeles.{{cite journal|last=Millea|first=Holly |title=Shooting Star|journal=Premiere|pages=144, 123, 125}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,282897,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906235844/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,282897,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 6, 2008|title=Monitor |last=Kristen |first=Baldwin|date=1998-05-01|publisher=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2009-07-20}}
After his death, photos of him in the depths of heroin addiction appeared in an Office of Drug Control Policy (Partnership for a Drug-Free America) public service announcement.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onUIjgxPFf4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913160953/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onUIjgxPFf4|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-09-13|title=Rodney Harvey - Actor who tragically died from overdose|publisher=Youtube|access-date=2009-06-23}}{{cite news |title=Rodney Harvey, 30; Model, Actor in 'My Own Private Idaho' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-22-mn-41870-story.html |access-date=18 October 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=22 April 1998}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1984
| Jose | Alternative title: Cocaïne |
| 1985
| Fast Action | |
| 1986
| | Unfinished film |
| 1987
| Danny Molloy | Alternative title: Zoomstone |
| 1987
| Castro | |
| 1988
| Salsa | Ken | |
| 1988
| Frankie | Alternative titles: The Mafia Kid |
| 1990
| Silent Love | Giulio | Alternative title: La bocca |
| 1990
| Biker Scotty | Episode: Pilot |
| 1990
| Sodapop Curtis | 13 episodes |
| 1991
| Gary | |
| 1992
| Guncrazy | Tom | |
| 1996
| God's Lonely Man | Glen | |
| 1996
| Intimate Crimes | Cameron | Alternative title: Delitti a Luce Rossa |
| 2021
|Self |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|367696}}
- {{YouTube|GLwqAlnDOvU|Rodney Harvey drug PSA}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Rodney}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:Cocaine-related deaths in California
Category:Deaths by heroin overdose in California
Category:Male actors from Philadelphia