Charles Frederick Harris was born in 1910. He grew up in Oak Cliff
near the home of Frank Reaugh who he was to always idolize as an
artist. He became a star athlete recruited by Baylor University.
There he became a hall of fame athlete and gained his life long nick
name, “Fred Red”. Harris tried his hand at professional baseball
before obtaining a law degree. He obtained notoriety for defending
Bonnie Parker’s sister who was wrongly implicated in the murders of
two Texas lawmen. He was elected to the Texas House of
Representatives and became a close friend of legendary Texas
politician Coke Stevenson. He saw action in the Pacific during WW II
as a navy officer. After the war he was to become a State Senator
and later a Dallas County Judge. Harris was a protégé of artist Fred
Darge who lived on the old Frank Reaugh property. In 1971 a
compilation of his works was published, The Western Paintings of Fred Red
Harris.