Harry was born in Kansas City and moved to Los Angeles in 1937 and worked in the mail room at Columbia Studios. Soon after, he attended UCLA while working as an an apprentice sound cutter and, then, an assistant sound effects editor. His supervisor at Columbia was Ronald Reagan, who hired him as a sound effects editor for training and combat films. Harry's career was interrupted by World War II, because he enlisted in the Army Air Forces, serving in the first Motion Picture Unit. Harry won an Emmy in 1982 for directing in a drama series for an episode of Fame (1982). He was also Emmy nominated for an episode of The Waltons (1972) and for a daytime Emmy for directing after the school special Have You Ever Been Ashamed of Your Parents?. Harry directed hundreds of TV episodes for shows such as Rawhide (1959), Gunsmoke (1955), Bonanza (1959), The Virginian (1962), Kung Fu (1972), Lost in Space (1965), Hawaii Five-O (1968), Falcon Crest (1981) and Eight Is Enough (1977).

Harry is survived by his wife, Patty; daughters, Joanne, a hairstylist and Suzanne; and a stepson, Michael Daruty, an NBC Universal exec.