“The Warriors” actor was 75

David Harris, the actor known for his role as Cochise in the 1979 cult classic “The Warriors,” has died. He was 75.

Harris died Friday at his home in New York City after a battle with cancer, his daughter Davina Harris told the New York Times.

In “The Warriors,” Harris played Cochise, an integral member of the red-vest-wearing gang of the same name. Directed by Walter Hill, the film is based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel of the same name and is about a New York gang that is accused of murder and decides to travel from the Bronx to Coney Island. Harris' character Cochise was distinguished from the others by his unique fashion style, which included a headband and a large turquoise necklace as a sign of rebellion.

“The Warriors” was panned by critics when it was first released, but eventually achieved cult status. “We thought it was a little film that would run its course and no one would ever talk about it again,” Harris said in a 2019 interview with ADAMICradio.

“I was in Hong Kong, I was in the Philippines, I was in Tokyo,” he added. “I've done a lot of movies, but I get off the plane and people say, 'That's the guy from 'The Warriors'.”

From the '80s to the 2000s, Harris worked on several films, including Bubaker (1980), Quicksilver (1980), A Soldier's Story (1984), Fatal Beauty (1987) and James. White” (2015), among others. He has also appeared on television shows such as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “ER,” “NYPD Blue,” “Mike Hammer: Private Eye,” and others.

His breakthrough project was the 1976 Emmy-nominated television film Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys, in which he played Haywood Patterson. The following year he was cast in the play Secret Service with Meryl Streep and John Lithgow.

Harris was born on June 18, 1949 in New York City. He attended the High School of Performing Arts, where one of his English teachers recommended he enter the drama department.

“I fell in love with it,” he said in a 2022 interview with “The Claw’s Corner.” “I said, you know what? I think that’s my niche.”

In addition to his daughter, Harris is survived by his mother, Maude Marie Harris; a sister, Jeannette C. Harris-Zwerin; brothers Arthur A. Harris and Vincent J. Harris; and two grandchildren.