Art Harris

HARRIS, Art

Art Harris, an award-winning journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, and CNN, died September 6, 2024, at his home in Atlanta. Art, a native of Atlanta, was 76. He was the son of Arthur L. Harris and Helen Alexander.

A Duke graduate and former U.S. Navy officer, his career began with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Then he moved to San Francisco to report for San Francisco Chronicle. Afterward he reported for The Washington Post, first in D.C., under legendary editor, Bob Woodward, later as the Atlanta Bureau Chief, where he covered such events as the Oliver North story, the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker story, and civil rights heroes Representative John Lewis and the Honorable Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first African American mayor. While at The Washington Post, Harris was nominated for the 1986 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing.

When CNN recruited Art as an investigative correspondent, he covered crime, war, and terrorism. Two National Emmy Awards followed his work on the Oklahoma City bombings and Atlanta's Olympic Park bombing. For CNN, Harris broke dozens of exclusives, among them covering the eight-month O.J. Simpson trial, where he became a trustworthy presence on TV screens around the world. Harris was also embedded for CNN with the 3rd battalion of the US Marines in Iraq, reporting from the frontlines.

Harris wrote for Esquire, Rolling Stone, Reader's Digest, People, Penthouse, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Daily News. Authors Dominick Dunne and William Diehl used Harris as a model for reporters in their novels, Diehl even naming them Art Harris.

Harris later transitioned into television production, as an investigative producer for Nancy Grace, ET and The Insider. He covered two Presidential campaigns, including a Laura Bush White House tour, viewed by 30 million people and contributed to CBS News and 48 Hours.

Harris' ability to get to the heart of a story was only rivaled by his role as a loving and supportive husband and father. He encouraged his son, Adam's early success as a runner and later business ventures and helped his son, Josh conquer addiction and launch a career as a professional comic. He found great joy in guest lecturing at schools free of charge, helping aspiring writers find their voice. Although his reporting often showed him to be a tough individual delving into difficult stories, Harris will be remembered as a sweet-tempered person devoted to his family, a practitioner of Yoga, a lover of animals, and as a man who relished helping others.

Harris is survived by his wife of 24 years, Carol Martin; two sons, Josh Harris and Adam Harris; three siblings, Sophie Joel (Alan), Jill Harris Brown (George), and Alex Harris (Margaret Sartor); many nieces and nephews, and his beloved dog and cat, Buffy and Catfish. Those desiring may send memorial donations to LifeLine Animal Project, Donations to LifeLine in memory of Art.