Tony-Winning Millie Star Joins ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Jan. 9

By Andrew Gans
06 Jan 2005

Harriet Sansom Harris
Harriet Sansom Harris

Harriet Sansom Harris, who won a Tony Award for her performance as the evil Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie, has joined the cast of the hit new television series "Desperate Housewives."

The actress, who recently starred in the Los Angeles Theatre Works presentation of Ken Ludwig'sTwentieth Century adaptation, will play the impossible sister of the late Mrs. Huber. Harris' recurring role begins Jan. 9. That broadcast also marks the debut of another Tony winner, Roger Bart. The former Producers star plays George Williams, a possible love interest for Bree (Marcia Cross).

"Desperate Housewives" — set on the ever-busy and mysterious Wisteria Lane — airs Sunday nights on ABC-TV, 9-10 PM ET; check local listings.

Harriet Harris received Tony and Drama Desk awards for her performance as Mrs. Meers in the Tony-winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has also been seen on the New York stage in The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Crucible, Man and Superman, Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Jeffrey and Bella, Belle of Byelorussia. Harris received Drama Desk nominations for her work in Jeffrey and Bella and has appeared on screen in "It's All Relative," "Memento," "Nurse Betty," "Romeo and Juliet," "Quiz Show," "Six Feet Under," "Frasier" and "The Beast.

Roger Bart was nominated for a Tony Award for his work in The Producers; he won his Tony for his role as Snoopy in the Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Bart's other Broadway credits include The Frogs, Triumph of Love, King David and Big River. On screen the actor has been seen in "The Stepford Wives," "Bram and Alice" and "The Insider." He has also lent his voice to the animated films "Hercules" and "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure."

"Desperate Housewives," the breakaway hit of the TV season, takes a "darkly comedic look at suburbia, where the secret lives of housewives aren't always what they seem." The hour-long dramedy features Marcia Cross, James Denton, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria, Nicollette Sheridan, Andrea Bowen, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Steven Culp, Jesse Metcalfe, Mark Moses, Brenda Strong and Cody Kasch. For more information visit www.abc.go.com.