John Anderson (actor)

John Anderson
Anderson in The Virginian in the 1960s
Born	John Robert Anderson (1922-10-20)October 20, 1922 Clayton, Illinois, U.S.
Died	Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Occupation	Actor, film director
Years active	1950-1992

John Robert Anderson (October 20, 1922 – August 7, 1992) was an American character actor.

Life and career

Anderson was born and raised in Quincy, Illinois. Anderson served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II, where he met artist Orazio Fumagalli, who became his lifelong friend. Anderson held a master's degree in drama from the University of Iowa.

An accomplished actor, Anderson started out on Broadway, including an appearance in the musical Paint Your Wagon in 1951. He later worked primarily in film and television.

Standing 6'5½" tall (197 cm), he bore a strong resemblance to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, whom he portrayed three times. He appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) as "California Charlie", the used car salesman who helps Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). On television, he appeared in such series as Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Laramie, Have Gun Will Travel, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Virginian, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Californians, Johnny Ringo, Trackdown, The Big Valley, Emergency!, and Outlaws.

Anderson appeared in The Rat Patrol (four times, three as the same character). He made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of defendant George Andrews in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Calendar Girl", and murderer Dan O'Malley in the 1963 episode, "The Case of the Greek Goddess". He also appeared in Overland Trail, The Tall Man, and The Legend of Jesse James. He played an eccentric farmer who jealously guarded his prize watermelon with a shotgun in "For the Love of Willadean: A Taste of Melon", part of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

Anderson had a recurring role in MacGyver as Harry Jackson, MacGyver's grandfather. Other credits include: Man Without a Gun, Hawaii Five-O, MASH, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Once an Eagle, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, Backstairs at the White House, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Dallas. A recurring Twilight Zone actor, he appeared in four different episodes ("The Old Man in the Cave", "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville", "The Odyssey of Flight 33", and "A Passage for Trumpet").

Death

Anderson suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Sherman Oaks, California. He was survived by two children, seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and two sisters. He was cremated and his ashes taken out to sea as part of his membership in the Neptune Society.

Body of work

Partial filmography

• The True Story of Lynn Stuart (1958)
• The Rifleman (1960)
• Psycho (1960)
• Ride the High Country (1962)
• Geronimo (1962)
• Bonanza (1963)
• The Satan Bug (1965)
• The Hallelujah Trail (1965)
• Namu, the Killer Whale (1966)
• A Covenant with Death (1967)
• Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
• Day of the Evil Gun (1968)
• A Man Called Gannon (1968)
• 5 Card Stud (1968)
• Heaven with a Gun (1969)
• The Great Bank Robbery (1969)
• Young Billy Young (1970)
• Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
• Soldier Blue (1970)
• Man and Boy (1971)
• Molly and Lawless John (1973)
• Executive Action (1973)
• Counselor at Crime (1973)
• The Dove (1974)
• The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977)
• Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
• Zoot Suit (1981)
• North and South (mini series) (1985)
• Never Too Young to Die (1986)
• Scorpion (1986)
• Eight Men Out (1988)

External links

• John Anderson at the Internet Movie Database
• John Anderson at AllMovie
• John Anderson at the Internet Broadway Database
• John Anderson at Find a Grave
• John Anderson at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)