Ron Glass was born Ronald E. Glass on July 10, 1945 in Evansville, Indiana, where he took up acting and literature at the University of Evansville. He worked with Minneapolis’ famed Guthrie Theatre following his graduation and stayed there for four years before moving to Los Angeles. He is best known for his role as Det. Ron Harris on the comedy series, Barney Miller and has appeared in many others including Sanford and Son, All in the Family, Hawaii 5-0, Hart to Hart, The Bob Newhart Show and Murder, She Wrote. More recently, he had guest parts in Friends, The Practice, Shark and Star Trek: Voyager.
Shepherd Book, played by Ron Glass on Firefly, is a spiritual individual who managed to secure passage aboard the Serenity by telling ship mechanic, Kaylee, that he wanted to “walk the world a while.” He pays for his fare with real fruit which is a novelty among the crew. While claiming a spiritual nature, Book is also well-versed in things not associated with God and religion.
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