Broadway's Julie Harris dies at 87 Broadway star and television actress Julie Harris, seen here with singer Tony Bennett, died on August 24. She was 87 years old. SAD news for Broadway fans over the weekend with the death of five-time Tony Award-winner, Julie Harris. Harris, who was 87, apparently died of congestive heart failure. She was known for performances of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Hamlet's Ophelia and Joan of Arc (her unprecedented five Tony Awards for best actress in a play has yet to be beaten). Harris was also known for a wide variety of film roles, and her 1952 screen debut - reprising her breakout Broadway role in an adaptation of The Member Of The Wedding - resulted in an Oscar nomination for best actress. She also starred opposite James Dean in East Of Eden and Paul Newman on Harper. And she impacted the small screen as well, most memorably starring as a Southern belle in the 1980s soap opera Knots Landing. She also won three Emmys for other roles, including as Queen Victoria on a television production of Victoria Regina.