Harry Bernsen, Jr., Dies

Producer, Father of Actor Corbin Bernsen

Harry Bernsen Jr., a film, television and stage producer and father of actor Corbin Bernsen, died May 31, 2008.

Harry Bernsen, who had been in failing health for several months, died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. He was 82.

Bernsen, a native of Chicago, served in the Marine Corps during World War II. Following the war, he studied acting in Los Angeles, but eventually decided he would be a better producer than performer. He got his start producing local plays.

Bernsen also adopted the role of manager at the Jaffe Agency, where he worked with director Arthur Hiller and actor Jim Hutton, among others.

His production credits include the TV miniseries The Awakening Land and the films Fools’ Parade, with James Stewart, and Take a Hard Ride, with Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly.

Bernsen is survived by his former wife, actress Jeanne Cooper, and their children, Corbin and Collin Bernsen and Caren Bernsen Wilson.