John Anderson (actor)

John Robert Anderson was an American character actor. He was best known for his more than 500 television roles.

Early life

Anderson was born in 1922 and raised in Clayton, Illinois. He first studied theatre in Minnesota and then Ohio. Anderson served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. He left Ohio to pursue an acting career in New York City. He also held a master's degree in drama from the University of Iowa. After moving to Los Angeles, Anderson worked as a street mime, jester, and juggler.

Career

Anderson started out on Broadway, including an appearance in the musical Paint Your Wagon in 1951. He was in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof from 1955 to 1956 at the Morosco Theatre. Standing, Anderson bore a strong resemblance to Abraham Lincoln, whom he portrayed three times. He appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho as used car salesman "California Charlie", who sells a car to Marion Crane. 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.
Anderson was cast on The Rat Patrol four times. He also made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, which include the episodes "The Case of the Calendar Girl", "The Case of the Bartered Bikini", 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 story originally broadcast on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in 1964.
In 1966 he starred as "Les McConnell", the brains and front man for a murderous bank robbing gang in a rare two part episode of Gunsmoke called "The Raid" along with actors Michael Conrad, Jim Davis, Richard Jaeckel and 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: "A Passage for Trumpet", "The Odyssey of Flight 33", "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville" and "The Old Man in the Cave". 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, Illinois 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.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	ref
1950	Fireside Theatre		Episode: "The Courting of Belle/Rendezvous"
1952	Hallmark Hall of Fame		Episode: "Bread of Freedom"
1952–54	Rocky King, Detective		Episodes:
1954	Cavalcade of America		Episode: "Man of Glass: The Story of a Glassmaker""
1954	Colonel Humphrey Flack		Episode: "The Wild West"
1954	Janet Dean, Registered Nurse		Episode: "The Gomez Chase"
1955	Gang Busters		Episode: "The Rocco Trapani Case"
1955–56	The Phil Silvers Show		Episodes:
1957–59	Trackdown		Episodes:
1957–60	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre	Various	4 episodes
1957	Panic!	Sheriff	Episode: "The Vigilantes"
1957	The Court of Last Resort	Phil	Episode: "The Gordon Wallace Case"
1958	Tombstone Territory	Allen Danbury	Episode: "The Return of the Outlaw"
1958	Sea Hunt	Various	3 episodes
1958	The Walter Winchell File	Burke	Episode "Exclusive Story: File #31"
1958	Cimarron City	Sheriff Jim Martin	Episode: "I, the People"
1958	The Californian	Various	3 episodes
1958	Target		Episode: "So Deathly Quiet"
1958–59	Have Gun - Will Travel	Various	3 episodes
1958–62	Tales of Wells Fargo	Various	3 episodes
1958–73	Gunsmoke	Various	12 episodes
1959	U.S. Marshal	Roy Andrews	Episode: "Gold Is Wher You Find It"
1959	Mike Hammer	Bill Thomas	Episode: "Aces and Eights"
1959	Alcoa Theatre	Virgil Merryman	Episode: "Man of His House"
1959	Steve Canyon	Sergeant Bulls	Episode: "The Bomb"
1959	Peter Gunn	Sergeant Rainey	Episode: "Breakout"
1959	Richard Diamond, Private Detective	Paul Russel	Episode: "Crown of Silla"
1959	Yancy Derringer	Wayne Raven	Episode: "Outlaw at Liberty"
1959	Man Without a Gun	Ab Carver	Episode: "Eye Witness"
1959	The Rough Riders		Episodes:
1959–60	Black Saddle		Episodes:
1959–63	The Rifleman	Various	11 episodes
1959–63	Perry Mason	Various	3 episodes
1959–66	Lassie	Various	3 episodes
1960	Bronco	Andy Strudevant	Episode: "Legacy of Twisted Creek"
1960	The Detectives	Various	3 episodes
1960	Wanted: Dead or Alive	Deputy Sheriff Fix	Episode: "The Inheritance"
1960	The Rebel	Ezra Taber	Episode: "Paint a House with Scarlet"
1960	Johnny Ringo	Cartwright	Episode: "The Derelict"
1960	The Man from Blackhawk	Walter Craig	Episode: "The Money Machine"
1960	The Westerner	Leth Richie	Episode: "School Days"
1960	Stagecoach West	Cole Dawson	Episode: The Land Beyond"
1960	Dante	Harrigan	Episode: "My Pal, the Bullseye"
1960	Harrigan and Son	Earl	Episode: "Non Compos Mentis"
1960–61	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	Virgil Earp	6 episodes
1960–61	Lawman		Episodes:
1960–63	Laramie	Various	6 episodes
1960–63	The Untouchables	Various	3 episodes
1960–63	The Twilight Zone	Various	4 episodes
1960–64	Death Valley Days		Episodes:
1960–69	Bonanza	Various	3 episodes
1961	Bat Masterson	Major Liam Mars	Episode: "The Court Martial of Major Mars
1961	Adventures in Paradise	Benson	Episode: "Captain Butcher
1961	87th Precinct	Biil Brewster	Episode: "The Modus Man"
1961	King of Diamonds		Episodes:
1961	Frontier Circus	Carl	Episode: "The Hunter and the Hunted"
1961	Cheyenne	Thackeray Smith	Episode: "Retaliation"
1961	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Joey 'Nick' Nicholson	Episode: "The Old Pro"
1962–63	Alcoa Premiere		Episodes:
1962–63	Stoney Burke		Episodes:
1962–63	Dr. Kildare		Episodes:
1962–65	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour		Episodes:
1962	The Tall Man	Major Judd Randolph	Episode: "Night of the Hawk"
1962	Cain's Hundred	Kenneth Drake	Episode: "Cost of Living: Howard Judlow"
1962	Thriller	Jacob Grant	Episode: "The Innocent Bystanders"
1962	The Eleventh Hour	Agent Steme	Episode: "I Don't Belong in a White-Painted House"
1962	Sam Benedict	James "Jim" Bradley	3 episodes
1962–69	The Virginian	Various	6 episodes
1963	The Dick Powell Theatre	Father Sheehan	Episode: "The Judge"
1963	Route 66	General Scranton	Episode: "...Shall Forfeit His Dog and Ten Schillings to the King"
1963	Kraft Mystery Theater	Sheriff Jim Seay	Episode: "Shadow of a Man"
1963	Redigo	Lee Cresco	Episode: "Horns of Hate"
1963	The Outer Limits	Ebonite Interrogator	Episode: "Nightmare"
1963	My Favorite Martian	Captain Farrow	Episode: "Raffles No. 2"
1963–64	The Great Adventure		Episodes:
1963–64	Ben Casey	Various	3 episodes
1964	The Lieutenant	Joe Hammond	Episode: "Gone the Sun"
1964	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	Farmer Wills	Episode: "For the Love of Willadean"
1964	The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	Café owner	Episode: "The Café Caper"
1964–65	The Fugitive		Episodes:
1964–65	Rawhide		Episodes:
1965	Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea	Dr. Janus	Episode: "Cradle of the Deep"
1965	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Rankin	Episode: "Won't It Ever Be Morning"
1965	A Man Called Shenandoah	Sheriff Haley	Episode: "Survival"
1965	The Big Valley		Episodes:
1966–72	The F.B.I.		Episodes:	-
1966	The Wackiest Ship in the Army	Sergeant Mac	Episodes:
1966	Scalplock	Burton Standish	Made-for-TV movie directed James Goldstone
1966	The Legend of Jesse James	Moss Canby	Episode: "The Hunted and the Hunters"
1966	Sidekicks	Sheriff	Made-for-TV movie directed by Peter Tewksbury
1966–68	The Rat Patrol		Episodes:
1967	The Felony Squad	Lt. Mike Reineck	Episode: "The Deadly Partner"
1967	Tarzan	Dolan	Episode: "The Day the Earth Trembled"
1967	The Road West	Major Perry	Episode: "Road to Glory"
1967	Occasional Wife	Col. Thomdyke	Episode: "Oil, Be Seeing You"
1967	Cimarron Strip	Arn Tinker	Episode: "Whitey"
1967	Dundee and the Culhane	Kintpaush	Episode: "The Death of a Warrior Brief"
1967	Mannix	George Blake	Episode: "Then the Drink Takes the Man"
1968	Lancer	Sheriff	Episode: "Blood Rock"
1969	Here Come the Brides		Episodes:	-
1970	The Andersonville Trial	Ambrose Spencer	Made-for-TV movie directed by George C. Scott
1971	Hawaii Five-O	Brigadier General Earl Rigney	Episode: "To Kill or Be Killed"
1971	Hitched	Jomer Cruett	Made-for-TV movie directed by Boris Sagal
1971	Cade's County	Colonel Street	Episode: "Violent Echo"
1971	The Animals	Sheriff Allan Pierce	Made-for-TV movie directed Ron Joy
1971	McMillan & Wife	Sandy King	Episode: "Death Is a Seven Point Favorite"
1971	Bearcats!	Judge Juan O'Brian	Episode: "Man in a Cage"
1972	The Sixth Sense	The Sheriff	Episode: "Through a Flame Darkly"
1972	Night Gallery	Sheriff	Episode "Through the Flame Darkly"
1973–74	Hec Ramsey		Episodes:	-
1973–74	Kung Fu		Episodes:
1973	Set This Town on Fire	Henry Kealey	Made-for-TV movie directed by David Lowell Rich
1973	Call to Danger	Edward McClure	Made-for-TV movie directed by Tom Gries
1973	Brock's Last Case	Joe Cuspis	Made-for-TV movie directed by David Lowell Rich
1973	Cannon	Major Bliss	Episode: "Deadly Heritage"
1973	Egan	J.R. King	Made-for-TV movie directed by Jud Taylor
1974	Lincoln: Trial by Fire	President Lincoln	Made-for-TV movie directed by Ed Spiegel
1974	Heatwave!	Toler	Made-for-TV movie directed by Jerry Jameson Part of the ABC Movie of the Week
1974	Smile Jenny, You're Dead	Col. John Lockport	Made-for-TV movie directed by Jerry Thorpe
1974	Manhunter	Aaron Denver	Made-for-TV movie directed by Walter Grauman
1974	Petrocelli	Joshua Forbes	Episode: "A Life for a Life"
1974	The Bob Newhart Show	Mr. Charlie Colton	Episode: "The Gray Flannel Shrink"
1975	Emergency!	Captain Bob Roberts	Episode: "Smoke Eater"
1975	Barnaby Jones	John Albright	Episode: "Jeopardy for Two"
1975	Dead Man on the Run	Jason Monroe	Made-for-TV movie directed by Bruce Bilson
1975	Bicentennial Minutes	Self/Narrator	Episode: "#1.304"	-
1975	Death Among Friends	Capt. Lewis	Made-for-TV movie directed by Paul Wendkos
1975	Little House on the Prairie	Mr. Pike	Episode: "Haunted House"
1975	The Family Holvak	McKesson	Episode: "The Devil's Chariot"
1975	Bronk	Colonel Kecker	Episode: "Deception"
1976	The Quest	Army Officer	Made-for-TV movie directed by Lee H. Katzin
1976	The Dark Side of Innocence	Stephen Hancock	Made-for-TV movie directed by Jerry Thorpe
1976	Bridger	President Andrew Jackson	Made-for-TV movie directed by David Lowell Rich
1976	The Quest	Harper	Episode: "Shanklin"
1976	The Rockford Files	Gerald A. O'Malley	Episode: "Coulter City Wildcat"
1976	Rich Man, Poor Man Book II	John "Scotty" Scott	Miniseries 7 episodes
1976	Once an Eagle	George Varney	Miniseries
1977–82	Quincy, M.E.	Various	3 episodes
1977	Tail Gunner Joe	Gen. George C. Marshall	Made-for-TV movie directed by Jud Taylor
1977	Tales of the Unexpected	Floyd Carrington	Episode: "Force of Evil"
1977	The Force of Evil	Sheriff Floyd Carrington	Made-for-TV movie directed by Richard Lang
1977	Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion	Alexander Majors	Made-for-TV movie directed by Michael O'Herlihy Based on San Domingo, The Medicine Hat Stallion by Marguerite Henry
1977	The Last Hurrah	Amos Force	Made-for-TV movie political drama by Vincent Sherman Based on the novel of the same name by Edwin O'Connor Remake of 1958 film of the same title
1977	Lou Grant	Russell Granger	Episode: "Takeover"
1978	Donner Pass: The Road to Survival	Patrick Breen	Made-for-TV movie directed by James L. Conway
1978	The Deerslayer	Hutter	Made-for-TV movie directed by Richard Friedenberg
1979	The Incredible Hulk	Mike Callahan	Episode: "Wildfire"
1979	Backstairs at the White House	President Franklin Delano Roosevelt	Miniseries
1979	Sweepstakes	Thomas Singer	Episode: "Pilot"
1979	Project U.F.O.	Captain Bergstad	Episode: "Sighting 4026: The Atlantic Queen Incident"
1980	The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo	Col. Clayborn	Episode: "First to Finish, Last to Show"
1980	Tenspeed and Brown Shoe	Vernon Laws	Episode: "This One's Gonna Kill Ya"
1981	Sanford	Judge	Episode: "Here Comes the Bride: Part 2"
1981	ABC Weekend Special	Curtis George	Episode: "Mayday! Mayday!"
1981	The Jeffersons	Mr. Claymore	Episodes:
1981	Checking In	Mr. Claymore	Episode: "Block's Party"
1981	The Greatest American Hero	General Gerald Stocker	Episode: "Operation Spoilsport"
1981	Hart to Hart	Jim Blye	Episode: "Hart of Darkness"
1982	Bret Maverick	General Frye	Episode: "The Vulture Also Rises"
1982	Silver Spoons	Captain Stark	Episode: "The Great Computer Caper"
1982	The First Time	Paul Cooper	Made-for-TV movie by Noel Nosseck
1982	Voyagers!	Abraham Lincoln	Episode: "The Day the Rebs Took Lincoln"
1982	Missing Children: A Mother's Story	Stanley Willard	Made-for-TV movie directed by Dick Lowry
1982–83	Tom Cottle: Up Close	Self	Episodes:
1983		Al Barton	Episode: "Happy Trails"
1983	MASH*	General Addison Collins	Episode: "Say No More"
1983	Insight	Fletcher	Episode: "The Hit Man"
1983–88	Dallas		6 episodes
1984	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	Humbug-Waiter David Reilly	Episode: "The Mole"
1984	Riptide	Walter Truman	Episode: "Diamonds Are Forever"
1984	Sins of the Past	Rev. Donald Randolph	Made-for-TV movie directed by Peter H. Hunt
1984	Jessie	Peckham	Episode: "The Psychic Connection"
1984–85	Matt Houston		Episodes:
1985	North and South	William Hazard	Miniseries 1 episode
1985–90	MacGyver	"Grandpa" Harry Jackson	5 episodes
1986	The Wonderful World of Disney	Holbrook	Episode: "I-Man"
1986	Dream West	Brigadier General Brooke	Miniseries directed by Dick Lowry
1986	Hardesty House	Maxwell Eaton II	Made-for-TV movie directed by Martin Davidson & R.W. Goodwin
1986	Starman	Rayfield	Episode: "Best Buddies"
1987	Heart of the City	Frank	Episode: "Out on a Limb"
1987	American Harvest	Judge Meriweather	Made-for-TV movie directed by Dick Lowry
1987	Mathnet	Roark	Episode: "The Problem of the Dirty Money"
1987	Square One Television	Roark	Episode: "1:22"
1987	Our House	Lt. Col. Roger Trask	Episode: "They Also Serve"
1988	Annie McGuire	O'Reilly	Episode: "The Legend of the Bad Fish"
1988	Hunter	Winston Taggert	Episode: "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"
1988	Baby Boom	Anakott	Episode: "The He-Man Woman's Hater Club"
1989	Knightwatch	Morris	3 episodes
1989	Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal	George Dutton	Made-for-TV movie directed by Noel Nosseck
1989	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Kevin Uxbridge	Episode: "The Survivors"
1990	Matlock	Sam Chandler	Episode: "The Informer: Part 1"
1990	Follow Your Heart	Josh	Made-for-TV movie directed by Noel Nosseck
1990	Shannon's Deal		Episode: "Sanctuary"
1991	In Broad Daylight	Wes Westerman	Made-for-TV movie directed by James Steven Sadwith
1991	Murder, She Wrote	Andrew Dixon	Episode: "Thursday's Child"
1991	Babe Ruth	Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis	Made-for-TV movie directed by Mark Tinker
1991	Perfect Strangers	Grandpa Beaumont 'Buzz' Appleton	Episode: "Grandpa"
1991	Daddy	George Watson	Made-for-TV movie directed by Michael Miller
1992	Bed of Lies	Price Daniel Sr.	Made-for-TV movie directed by William A. Graham
1992	Quantum Leap	Pat Knight	Episode: "The Last Gunfighter - November 28, 1957"
1992	Jake and the Fatman	Ace Thompson	Episode: "All Through the Night"