Rodney Harvey
American actor (1967-1998)
Rodney Michael Harvey (July 31, 1967 , April 11, 1998) was an American actor, model, singer and dancer.
01Career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Eddie and Lois Harvey. 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). Harvey attended South Philadelphia High School through the 11th grade, but dropped out to pursue a movie career. 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.
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.
02Death
During the making of My Own Private Idaho, Harvey began using heroin. 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.
Following his death, photos of Harvey in the depths of heroin addiction appeared in an Office of Drug Control Policy (Partnership for a Drug-Free America) public service announcement.
03Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Mixed Blood | Jose | Alternative title: Cocaïne |
| 1985 | Delivery Boys | Fast Action | |
| 1986 | The Return of Billy Jack | Unfinished film | |
| 1987 | Initiation | Danny Molloy | Alternative title: Zoomstone |
| 1987 | Beauty Brothers | Rodney | Short film directed by Bruce Weber |
| 1987 | Five Corners | Castro | |
| 1988 | Salsa | Ken | |
| 1988 | Spike of Bensonhurst | Frankie | Alternative titles: The Mafia Kid Throw Back! |
| 1988 | Let's Get Lost | Self | Documentary directed by Bruce Weber |
| 1990 | Silent Love | Giulio | Alternative title: La bocca |
| 1990 | Twin Peaks | Biker Scotty | Episode: Pilot |
| 1990 | The Outsiders | Sodapop Curtis | 13 episodes |
| 1991 | My Own Private Idaho | Gary | |
| 1992 | Guncrazy | Tom | |
| 1996 | God's Lonely Man | Glen | |
| 1996 | Intimate Crimes | Cameron | Alternative title: Delitti a Luce Rossa |
| 1999 | E! True Hollywood Story | Self | Episode: "Poisoned Dreams: Rodney Harvey" (Archive footage) |
| 2012 | My Own Private River | Gary | Archive footage |
| 2021 | Kid 90 | Self | Documentary (Archive footage) |
Music videos and commercials
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "Hold Me" | Self | Music video by Menudo |
| 1990 | Obsession | Self | Calvin Klein advertisement directed by David Lynch |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Rodney Harvey”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Rodney Harvey.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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