# Ron Glass

Ronald Earle Glass (July 10, 1945 – November 25, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as literary Det. Ron Harris in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982), and as the spiritual shepherd, Shepherd Book, in the science fiction series Firefly (2002) and its sequel film Serenity (2005).

## Early life

Glass was born in Evansville, Indiana, the son of Lethia and Crump Glass.
After graduating from St. Francis Seminary in 1964, Glass attended the University of Evansville, where he received a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in drama and literature. Years later, the university awarded him its Medal of Honor. Glass said in 2007 he knew while he was in college that he wanted to act. With a teacher's encouragement, he performed in a play and went on to an acting career.

## Career

Glass made his stage debut at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before moving to Hollywood. His earliest TV appearances include episodes of Sanford and Son in 1972, an episode of Hawaii Five-O in 1973, an episode of Maude in 1973, an episode of All in the Family in 1973, an episode of The Bob Newhart Show, and episodes of Good Times in 1974. In 1975, he landed the role of Det. Ron Harris in Barney Miller, which ran until 1982.
The following season, Glass co-starred with Demond Wilson on television in a remake of The Odd Couple, called The New Odd Couple. On December 13, 1985, he played a soul-collecting devil opposite Sherman Hemsley's mathematics professor in an episode of the revived Twilight Zone series. In 1992, he co-starred in the sitcom Rhythm and Blues, a kind of "black WKRP", playing "the fifth Top" opposite Roger Kabler.
In 1996, Glass was cast as uptight history teacher Roland Felcher in the NBC sitcom Mr. Rhodes opposite Tom Rhodes. In 1999, he appeared in two episodes of the NBC sitcom Friends as Russell, Ross Geller's lawyer. After that, Glass appeared in dozens of television series, including sitcoms such as Family Matters and the series Teen Angel, where he played God's cousin Rod. He had a guest appearance in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Nightingale". He was a series regular in the science fiction series Firefly (2002) and the sequel film Serenity (2005), in which he played Derrial Book, a Christian "Shepherd" with a mysterious past. Glass provided the voice of Randy Carmichael for the Nickelodeon series All Grown Up! and Rugrats, and the character Garth in the video game Fable II. In 2008 he appeared in the film Lakeview Terrace alongside Samuel L. Jackson and starred in the 2010 version of Death at a Funeral as Duncan.

## Personal life and death

Glass never married, and though raised Catholic became a devout Buddhist, and a member of Soka Gakkai International. He died of respiratory failure on November 25, 2016, at the age of 71. He is interred at the Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder | Quintus | |
| 1983 | Sound of Sunshine – Sound of Rain | Narrator | Short film |
| 1988 | Deep Space | Jerry Merris | |
| 1995 | Houseguest | Dr. Derek Bond | |
| 1996 | It's My Party | Dr. David Wahl | |
| 1997 | Back in Business | Allen Smith | |
| 1999 | Deal of a Lifetime | Mr. Creighton | |
| 1999 | Unbowed | President Duquesne | |
| 2001 | Recess: School's Out | Dr. Lazenby / Tech #2 (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Serenity | Shepherd Book | |
| 2008 | Lakeview Terrace | Harold Perreau | |
| 2010 | Death at a Funeral | Duncan | |
| 2012 | Strange Frame | Philo Grenman | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972–1974 | Sanford and Son | Hucklebuck / Herman Edwards | 2 episodes |
| 1973 | All in the Family | Jack | Episode: "Everybody Tells the Truth" |
| 1973 | Beg, Borrow, or Steal | Ray Buren | TV film |
| 1973 | Shirts/Skins | Mr. Brown | TV film |
| 1973 | Maude | Whitnauer Fulton | Episode: "Florida's Affair" |
| 1973 | Hawaii Five-O | J. Paul | Episode: "Tricks Are Not Treats" |
| 1973 | The Bob Newhart Show | Elevator Repairman | Episode: "Fit, Fat and Forty One" |
| 1973 | Griff | Dietrich | Episode: "Elephant in a Cage" |
| 1973 | Insight | Courtney Rickell | Episode: "Reunion" |
| 1974 | The New Adventures of Perry Mason | Mark Borden | Episode: "The Case of the Tortured Titan" |
| 1974 | Change at 125th Street | John Morse | TV short film |
| 1974 | Good Times | Mr. Pearson / Henry Anderson | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | The Streets of San Francisco | Earl | Episode: "Rampage" |
| 1975 | Let's Switch! | LaRue Williams | TV film |
| 1975 | Insight | Courtney Rickell | Episode: "Class Reunion" |
| 1975 | Foster and Laurie | Doctor #2 | TV film |
| 1975 | When Things Were Rotten | Black Knight | Episode: "This Lance for Hire" |
| 1975–1982 | Barney Miller | Det. Ron Harris | Regular role (164 episodes) |
| 1976 | The Streets of San Francisco | Arlen Washington | Episode: "The Thrill Killers" |
| 1978 | Crash | Jerry Grant | TV film |
| 1981 | Hart to Hart | Conductor Slattery | Episode: "Hartland Express" |
| 1982–1983 | The New Odd Couple | Felix Unger | Regular role (18 episodes) |
| 1985 | Gus Brown and Midnight Brewster | Midnight Brewster | TV film |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Demon | Episode: "I of Newton" |
| 1986 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star | Eric Brenner | TV film |
| 1987 | 227 | Robert Stone | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Sonny Spoon | | Episode: "Deuces Wild" |
| 1989 | Family Matters | Buddy Goodrich | Episode: "False Arrest" |
| 1989–1991 | Amen | Jason Lockwood | 3 episodes |
| 1991 | The New Adam-12 | Logan Mills | Episode: "D.A.R.E." |
| 1992 | Murder, She Wrote | Lt. Hanrahan | Episode: "Incident in Lot #7" |
| 1992 | The Royal Family | Deacon Hudson | Episode: "The Sneakin' Deacon" |
| 1992–1993 | Rhythm & Blues | Don Phillips | Main role (13 episodes) |
| 1993 | Designing Women | Punch | Episode: "It's Not So Easy Being Green" |
| 1993-2001 | Rugrats | Randy Carmichael (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Aladdin | Kwanseer (voice) | Episode: "Bad Mood Rising" |
| 1996–1997 | Mr. Rhodes | Ronald Felcher | Regular role (17 episodes) |
| 1997 | Superman: The Animated Series | News Anchorman (voice) | Episode: "Blasts from the Past" |
| 1997 | The Practice | Judge Kent | Episode: "Reasonable Doubts" |
| 1997–1998 | Teen Angel | Rod | Regular role (17 episodes) |
| 1999 | Incognito | Marcus Courtland | TV film |
| 1999 | Twice in a Lifetime | Charlie Summers / Charlie Winters | Episode: "The Blame Game" |
| 1999 | Friends | Russell | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Jack & Jill | Mr. Small | Episode: "Animal Planet: Part 1" |
| 2000 | Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane | Prof. Bradford | Episode: "Too Much Pressure" |
| 2000 | Star Trek: Voyager | Loken | Episode: "Nightingale" |
| 2001 | Rude Awakening | Joseph | Episode: "Ode to Billie and Joe" |
| 2001 | Yes, Dear | Dr. Bradley | Episode: "The Big Snip" |
| 2001 | The Education of Max Bickford | Graham Redmond | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2001 | The Proud Family | The Talking Baby (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2002 | Firefly | Shepherd Derrial Book | Main role (14 episodes) |
| 2004 | The Division | Barry | Episode: "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" |
| 2004–2008 | All Grown Up! | Randy Carmichael (voice) | 12 episodes |
| 2006 | Secret History of Religion: Doomsday – Book of Revelation | Reenactor | TV film |
| 2006 | Secret History of Religion: Knights Templar | Reenactor | TV film |
| 2006–2007 | Shark | Judge Stewart Fenton | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Dirty Sexy Money | D.A. Dennis Ford | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | CSI: NY | Colby Glass | Episode: "To What End?" |
| 2013, 2014 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Dr. Streiten | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Major Crimes | Clayton Carter | Episode: "There's No Place Like Home" |
| 2014 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Paul Lomax | Episode: "Killer Moves" (Final role) |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
| 2008 | Fable II | Garth | |
| 2014 | Ancient Space | Colonel Edwards / Professor Risseau | Voice (final role) |