Born Lauruska Mischa Skikne in Yomishkis, Lituania. As a child he emigrated with his Jewish parents to South Africa. At 14, lying about his age, he enlisted in the South African navy but was discovered and returned home. At 15 he made his stage debut with the Johannesburg Repertory Theatre. The same year, 1943, he joined the army and served in the entertainment unit for the duration of WW II. In 1946 he went to England, where he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After three months he joined a Manchester repertory company and quickly moved into lead parts. Bright and ambitious, he made his screen debut in 1948 and played his first lead the following year. Meanwhile, he continued his rise on the stage both in London and in New York, scoring a personal triumph in the title part of Henry V in the 1958-59 Old Vic tour of the US. At the same time, he became established as a screen star with his perceptive performance as a ruthlessly ambitious young man in the British film ROOM AT THE TOP (1959). He subsequently starred in many top-budget Hollywood productions as well as in important British films. Other notable screen credits include I AM A CAMERA (1955), THE SILENT ENEMY (1958), THE ALAMO and BUTTERFIELD 8 (both 1960), SUMMER AND SMOKE (1961), WALK ON THE WILD SIDE, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (all 1962), A GIRL NAMED TAMIKO (1963), OF HUMAN BONDAGE and THE OUTRAGE (both 1946), DARLING (1965), and A DANDY IN ASPIC (1968), which he finished directing after the death of Anthony Mann. His later film appearances were in THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN (1969), THE DEEP and WUSA (both 1970), ESCAPE TO THE SUN (1972), NIGHT WATCH (1973), and WELCOME TO ARROW BEACH (1974). Harvey married and divorced actresses Margaret Leighton and Joan Perry Cohn, the widow of Columbia Pictures's late boss. For the last year of his life, he was married to actress Paulene Stone. He died of stomach cancer at the age of 45.  Nominated for Actor 1959: ROOM AT THE TOP 1 nomination