John Anderson (actor)

John Anderson
Anderson in The Virginian, 1960s
Born	John Robert Anderson (1922-10-20)October 20, 1922 Clayton, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 7, 1992(1992-08-07) (aged 69) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–1992
Spouse	Patricia A. Cason ​ ​ (m. 1946; died 1989)​

John Robert Anderson (October 20, 1922 – August 7, 1992) was an American character actor who performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions during a career that spanned over four decades.

Life and career

Anderson was born in 1922 and raised in Clayton, Illinois. He served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. He also held a master's degree in drama from the University of Iowa.

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 feet 2 inches (188 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 used car salesman "California Charlie", who sells a car to Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). On television, he appeared in such series as The Rockford Files, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, Rawhide,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, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Trackdown, The Big Valley, Tales of Wells Fargo, Emergency!, The Incredible Hulk, MacGyver and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (episode "Cradle of the Deep").

Anderson was cast on The Rat Patrol four times (three of those occasions as the same character). He also made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, which include the episodes "The Case of the Calendar Girl" (1959), "The Case of the Bartered Bikini" (1959), and "The Case of the Greek Goddess". In 1959 Anderson appeared as Sergeant Bulla, in the TV series Steve Canyon in the Season 1/Episode 24, that was titled "The Bomb". In 1961 Anderson appeared as Hassayampa Edwards in the TV western Lawman in the episode titled "Hassayampa". He can also be seen in other series produced in this period, such as Overland Trail, The Tall Man, and The Legend of Jesse James. He portrays an eccentric farmer who jealously guards his prize watermelon with a shotgun in "For the Love of Willadean: A Taste of Melon", a story originally broadcast on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in 1964.

In 1966 he starred as “Les McConnell”, the brains & front man for a murderous bank robbing gang in a rare two part episode of Gunsmoke called “The Raid” (S11E19) along with actors Michael Conrad, Jim Davis, Richard Jaeckel & Gary Lockwood.

Anderson had a recurring role in MacGyver as Harry Jackson, MacGyver's grandfather. Other credits include: Man Without a Gun; Hawaii Five-O; M*A*S*H as Major General Collins; 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". He was also The Interrogator on an episode of The Outer Limits titled "Nightmare".

The first release of the 1993 soundtrack album Music from the Television Series Quantum Leap was dedicated to him. He had been featured in the fourth season episode "The Last Gunfighter" of that sci-fi series as Pat Knight; the episode had first aired about six months before his death.

Personal life and death

On June 8, 1946, Anderson married Patricia A. Cason in the rectory of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Quincy and the couple moved to Iowa City, where Anderson studied in the liberal arts college at the University of Iowa and earned his master's degree in drama. Anderson was married to Cason until her death on February 18, 1989. Three years later, Anderson suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, at the age of 69.

Body of work

Partial filmography

• 1953 The Eddie Cantor Story as Bobby (uncredited)
• 1955 Target Zero as an undetermined role (uncredited)
• 1957-1960 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (4 episodes)
  • (Season 2 Episode 7: "Episode in Darkness") (1957) as Roy Kelsey
  • (Season 3 Episode 15: "Hang the Heart High") (1959) as Marshal Cal Lazenby
  • (Season 4 Episode 10: "Rebel Range") (1959) as Fisk Madden
  • (Season 5 Episode 11: "The Man from Yesterday") (1960) as John Duncan
• 1958 The True Story of Lynn Stuart as Doc (uncredited)
• 1958 The Californian (3 episodes)
  • (Season 1 Episode 17: "China Doll") as The Deacon
  • (Season 1 Episode 24: "The Marshal") as Slater
  • (Season 2 Episode 8: "Hangtown") as Reed Bullard
• 1958-1973 Gunsmoke (12 episodes)
  • (Season 3 Episode 18: "Buffalo Man") (1958) as Ben Siple
  • (Season 4 Episode 7: "Stage Hold-Up") (1958) as Yermo
  • (Season 5 Episode 6: "Annie Oakley") (1959) as Delliver
  • (Season 8 Episode 21: "Cousin") (1963) as Cheevers
  • (Season 11 Episode 15: "Gold Mine") (1965) as Pa Gibbijohn
  • (Season 11 Episode 18: "The Raid: Part 1") (1966) as Les McConnell
  • (Season 11 Episode 19: "The Raid: Part 2") (1966) as Les McConnell
  • (Season 12 Episode 19: "Mail Drop") (1967) as Roberts
  • (Season 15 Episode 9: "A Matter of Honor") (1969) as Jess Fletcher
  • (Season 15 Episode 13: "Roots of Fear") (1969) as Amos Sadler
  • (Season 16 Episode 17: "Mirage") (1971) as Lemuel Cleary
  • (Season 18 Episode 21: "Kimbro") (1973) as Adam Kimbro
• 1959 Last Train from Gun Hill as Salesman In Horseshoe (uncredited)
• 1959-1963 Perry Mason (3 episodes)
  • (Season 2 Episode 24: "The Case of the Calendar Girl") (1959) as George Andrews
  • (Season 3 Episode 8: "The Case of the Bartered Bikini") (1959) as Bud Ferrand
  • (Season 6 Episode 25: "The Case of the Greek Goddess") (1963) as Dan O'Malley
• 1959-1963 The Rifleman (11 episodes)
  • (Season 1 Episode 17: "The Retired Gun") (1959) as Owny Kincaid
  • (Season 1 Episode 19: "Shivaree") (1959) as Chet Packard
  • (Season 1 Episode 29: "The Hawk") (1959) as Eli Flack
  • (Season 2 Episode 1: "The Patsy") (1959) as Sully Hobbs
  • (Season 2 Episode 15: "Day of the Hunter") (1960) as Cass Callicot
  • (Season 2 Episode 16: "Mail Order Groom") (1960) as Jess Profit
  • (Season 2 Episode 29: "Shotgun Man") (1960) as John Beaumont
  • (Season 3 Episode 19: "Face of Yesterday") (1961) as Hank Clay
  • (Season 4 Episode 5: "The Journey Back") (1961) as Will Temple
  • (Season 5 Episode 14: "Incident at Line Shack Six") (1963) as John Gangling
  • (Season 5 Episode 24: "Old Man Running") (1963) as Samuel Gibbs, Lucas's recovered alcoholic father-in-law Sam Gibbs, who arrives in North Fork seeking forgiveness (aired 3/17/1963)
• 1960 Psycho as "California Charlie"
• 1960 Le olimpiadi dei mariti
• 1960 The Wackiest Ship in the Army as Sailor (uncredited)
• 1960-1963 The Twilight Zone (4 episodes)
  • (Season 1 Episode 32: "A Passage for Trumpet") (1960) as Gabriel "Gabe"
  • (Season 2 Episode 18: "The Odyssey of Flight 33") (1961) as Captain 'Skipper' Farver
  • (Season 4 Episode 14: "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville") (1963) as Deidrich
  • (Season 5 Episode 7: "The Old Man in the Cave") (1963) as Goldsmith
• 1960-1963 Laramie (6 episodes)
  • (Season 1 Episode 31: "Men of Defiance") (1960) as Frank Bannister
  • (Season 2 Episode 6: "The Long Riders") (1960) as Ed McKeever
  • (Season 3 Episode 14: "The Perfect Gift") (1962) as Matt Cady
  • (Season 3 Episode 20: "A Grave for Cully Brown") (1962) as Sobey
  • (Season 4 Episode 10: "Bad Blood") (1962) as Leo McCall
  • (Season 4 Episode 22: "The Violent Ones") (1963) as Bob Blayne
• 1960-1969 Bonanza (3 episodes)
  • (Season 1 Episode 18: "A House Divided") (1960) as Gorman
  • (Season 5 Episode 3: "Rain from Heaven") (1963) as Tulsa Weems
  • (Season 10 Episode 29: "The Fence") (1969) as Sam Masters / Tom Andrews
• 1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 7 Episode 8: "The Old Pro") as Joey 'Nick' Nicholson
• 1961 Bat Masterson (Season 3 Episode 15: "The Court Marshal of Major Mars") as Major Liam Mars
• 1962 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (Season 1 Episode 11: "Ride the Nightmare") as Adam
• 1962 Walk on the Wild Side as Preacher
• 1962 Geronimo as Jeremiah Burns
• 1962 Ride the High Country as Elder Hammond
• 1962-1969 The Virginian (6 episodes)
  • (Season 1 Episode 3: "Throw a Long Rope") (1962) as Major Cass
  • (Season 4 Episode 2: "Day of the Scorpion") (1965) as Adam Tercell
  • (Season 4 Episode 22: "Harvest of Strangers") (1966) as Jeremiah Chilton
  • (Season 5 Episode 4: "An Echo of Thunder") (1966) as Deputy Sheriff Sam Morrell
  • (Season 6 Episode 8: "Bitter Autumn") (1967) as Sam McLain
  • (Season 8 Episode 10: "Home to Methusaleh") (1969) as Seth James
• 1963 The Outer Limits (Season 1 Episode 10: "Nightmare") as Ebonite Interrogator
• 1963 My Favorite Martian (Season 1 Episode 10: "Raffles No. 2") as Captain Farrow
• 1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (Season 3 Episode 27: "The Second Wife") as Luke Hunter
• 1965 The Satan Bug as Agent Reagan
• 1965 The Hallelujah Trail as Sergeant Buell
• 1966 Namu, the Killer Whale as Joe Clausen
• 1966 The Fortune Cookie as Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
• 1966 fr:Le Virginien (season 5 Episode 04) "The Storm" as Deputy Sheriff Sam Murray
• 1967 A Covenant with Death as Dietrich
• 1967 Welcome to Hard Times as Ezra Maple / Isaac Maple
• 1968 Day of the Evil Gun as Captain Jefferson Addis
• 1968 A Man Called Gannon as Capper
• 1968 5 Card Stud as Marshal Dana
• 1968 Massacre Harbor as Major Indrus
• 1969 Heaven with a Gun as Asa Beck
• 1969 The Great Bank Robbery as Mayor Kincaid
• 1969 Young Billy Young as Boone
• 1970 The Animals as Sheriff Allan Pierce
• 1970 Cotton Comes to Harlem as Captain Bryce
• 1970 Soldier Blue as Colonel Iverson
• 1971 Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series) (Season 3 Episode 17: "To Kill or Be Killed") as Brigadier General Earl Rigney
• 1971 Man and Boy as Stretch
• 1971 Bearcats! (Season 1 Episode 13: "Man in a Cage") as Judge Juan O'Brian
• 1972 The Stepmother as Inspector Darnezi
• 1972 Molly and Lawless John as Sheriff Marvin Parker
• 1972 Night Gallery (Episode "Through the Flame Darkly") as Sheriff
• 1973 Counselor at Crime as Don Vito Albanese
• 1973 Executive Action as Halliday
• 1973-1974 Kung Fu (2 episodes)
  • (Season 1 Episode 3: "Blood Brother") (1973) as Benjamin Dundee
  • (Season 2 Episode 18: "Crossties") (1974) as Jack Youngblood
• 1974 Heatwave! as Toler
• 1974 The Dove as Mike Turk
• 1975 Little House on the Prairie (Season 2 Episode 5: "Haunted House") as Mr. Pike
• 1975 The Specialist as Pike Smith
• 1975 Emergency! (Season 4 Episode 16: "Smoke Eater") as Captain Bob Roberts
• 1976 Rich Man, Poor Man Book II (mini-series) (7 episodes) as Scotty
• 1976 The Rockford Files (Season 3 Episode 6: "Coulter City Wildcat") as Gerald A. O'Malley
• 1976 Once an Eagle (mini-series) as George Varney
• 1977 The Lincoln Conspiracy as Abraham Lincoln
• 1977 The Last Hurrah as Amos Force
• 1979 Backstairs at the White House (mini-series) as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• 1979 The Incredible Hulk (Season 2 Episode 11: "Wildfire") as Mike Callahan
• 1980 Out of the Blue as TV Interviewer
• 1980 Smokey and the Bandit II as Governor
• 1981 Zoot Suit as Judge F.W. Charles
• 1982 The American Adventure as Mark Twain / Franklin D. Roosevelt (voice)
• 1982 The First Time as Paul Cooper
• 1982 Voyagers! (Season 1 Episode 7: "The Day the Rebs Took Lincoln") as Abraham Lincoln
• 1983 M*A*S*H (Season 11 Episode 12: "Say No More") as General Addison Collins
• 1985 North and South (mini-series) (Book 1: North and South: 1 episode, credited for 5 more) as William Hazard
• 1985-1990 MacGyver (5 episodes) as "Grandpa" Harry Jackson
  • (Season 1 Episode 10: "Target MacGyver") (1985)
  • (Season 2 Episode 11: "Phoenix Under Siege") (1987)
  • (Season 2 Episode 20: "Friends") (1987)
  • (Season 5 Episode 21: "Passages") (1990)
  • (Season 6 Episode 7: "Harry's Will") (1990)
• 1986 Amerasia
• 1986 Dream West (TV mini-series) (2 episodes) as Brigadier General Brooke
  • (Season 1 Episode 1: "Dream West")
  • (Season 1 Episode 2: "Part II")
• 1986 Never Too Young to Die as Arliss
• 1986 Scorpion as Joel / Noel G. Koch
• 1988 Eight Men Out as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
• 1989 Deadly Innocents as Gus
• 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 3 Episode 3: "The Survivors") as Kevin Uxbridge
• 1990 Matlock (Season 4 Episode 20: "The Informer: Part 1") as Sam Chandler
• 1991 In Broad Daylight (TV movie) as Wes Westerman
• 1991 Babe Ruth (TV movie) as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
• 1991 Perfect Strangers (Season 6 Episode 14: "Grandpa") as Grandpa Beaumont 'Buzz' Appleton
• 1992 Quantum Leap (Season 4 Episode 14: "The Last Gunfighter - November 28, 1957") as Pat Knight

External links

• John Anderson at AllMovie
• John Anderson at IMDb
• John Anderson at the Internet Broadway Database