Harry Lewis

Harry Lewis was born and raised as Lee Utterbach in the San Fernando Valley. His father was a dentist. While growing up Lewis was into surfing, skiing, and spending summers in Colorado on his grandmother's ranch. Following graduation from Montclair College Preparatory in 1965, Harry went on to attend both Pierce Junior College and Northridge State College. Lewis got married at age 19 and dropped out of college after separating from his first wife at age 21 in 1969. During this time Harry worked for Deluxe Check Printers in Chatsworth, California during the day and a printing company in the evening. Lewis got a draft notice to serve in the armed forces in the Vietnam war, but was classified as a last chance draft pick by successfully faking that he had diabetes. Harry subsequently got a job filing photographs for the adult magazine company Jaybird Publications. Lewis was taught by noted erotic photographer Paul Johnson the basics on taking photos and established himself as a staff photographer at Jaybird Publications. Harry's career as an erotic photographer came to an abrupt end in the wake of being arrested by the police for taking nude photos of an underage female model. Fortunately, Lewis had a lawyer who managed to convince the judge to give Lewis five years probation instead of a five year prison sentence. Harry's probation officer told Harry one of the terms of his probation was to start taking night courses at the University of California in Los Angeles. While at UCLA Lewis took courses on directing, producing, and filmmaking. After his probation was reduced by two years, Harry left Los Angeles and moved to San Francisco. Lewis befriended Clair Dia and her husband Lee. Through Clair Harry met adult theater owner Lowell Pickett and then made the acquaintance of Jerry Abrams, who in turn introduced Harry to Zachary Strong. Lewis collaborated with Strong on the adult film Visions of Clair (1978), which was shot in 1975, but not released until three years after it was made. Harry then ten hardcore loops for a man named Dick Wolf and worked as a crew member on several hardcore movies. Lewis went on to make a handful of hardcore movies under such pseudonyms as Harold Lee, Young Lee, and Mr. Kezar. In the early 1980's Harry joined forces with Elliot Lewis to form the Lewis Brothers of Detroit, which was a group of adult filmmakers who included Harry, Elliot, and Ken Gibb. The Lewis Brothers made fifteen hardcore movies over the course of seven years. Harry eventually left the Lewis Brothers and started his own camera rental business which lasted until November, 2010. Lewis and his second wife moved to Arizona in December, 2016.