Richard Anderson


Richard Norman Anderson was an American film and television actor. One of his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman television series between 1974 and 1978 and their subsequent television movies: The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman and Bionic Ever After?.

Early life

Anderson was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, the son of Olga and Harry Anderson. He appeared in high school plays after moving to Los Angeles.
Anderson served in the United States Army during World War II.

Career

Before Anderson began his career in 1950 as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player, he studied at the Actors' Laboratory Theatre, which led to work in radio and stock theater. His many films at MGM included The Magnificent Yankee as Reynolds, The Student Prince as Lucas, and Forbidden Planet as Chief Engineer Quinn.
After his six years at MGM, he was contracted to 20th Century Fox.
Among his later films were the World War I drama Paths of Glory directed by Stanley Kubrick in which Anderson played the prosecuting attorney. Anderson played Ricardo Del Amo in the second season of Zorro, a friend and rival of Diego de la Vega. He was the object of the unrequited love of Clara Varner in The Long, Hot Summer and a suspicious military officer in Seven Days in May.
In the 1960s, Anderson made appearances in 23 episodes of Perry Mason during the series' final season as Police Lieutenant Steve Drumm, replacing the character of Lt. Tragg, played by Ray Collins, who died in 1965. Before he became a Perry Mason regular, Anderson made guest appearances in two episodes: as defendant Edward Lewis in "The Case of the Accosted Accountant", and Jason Foster in "The Case of the Paper Bullets".
He also appeared on Steve Canyon, The Untouchables, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, Daniel Boone, Thriller, The Eleventh Hour, Redigo, Combat!, Twelve O'Clock High, I Spy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, The Wild Wild West, Bonanza, The Green Hornet, The Invaders, and The Big Valley. In 1961–62, Anderson co-starred with Marilyn Maxwell in an ABC production of Bus Stop. He was a guest-star in the last episode of season 1 of Mission: Impossible as Judge Wilson Chase.
In 1965, he played Judge Lander in the episode "Kate Melville and the Law" of the syndicated series Death Valley Days. He appeared in The Wild Wild West, S3 E17 "The Night of the Headless Woman" as the corrupt San Francisco shipping inspector James Jeffers. In 1970–71, Anderson starred as Chief George Untermeyer in the Burt Reynolds series Dan August.
Anderson first appeared as Oscar Goldman in the second episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. He portrayed the character through the series' end in 1978 and on the spinoff series The Bionic Woman for its entire run from 1976 to 1978. Anderson was a guest-star on other TV series in the 1960s and 1970s, including Hawaii Five-O, Wanted Dead or Alive, Gunsmoke, Ironside, Columbo and The Love Boat.
He appeared in the television movie The Night Strangler as the villain, Dr. Richard Malcolm. Anderson was just as busy in the 1980s on Charlie's Angels, Matt Houston, Knight Rider, Remington Steele, Cover Up, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Simon & Simon, and Murder, She Wrote. He played murder suspect Ken Braddock in the first two-hour episode of the revived Perry Mason, starring Raymond Burr, titled "Perry Mason Returns", Anderson had a recurring role as Senator Buck Fallmont on Dynasty from 1986 to 1987. He portrayed President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1987 miniseries Hoover vs. The Kennedys.
In the 1990s, Anderson served as narrator and a recurring guest star for Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. He was also a commercial spokesperson for the Shell Oil Company in the United States, known as the Shell Answer Man. "The Shell Answer Man" appeared in commercials from 1976 to 1982.

Personal life and death

Anderson was married to Carol Lee Ladd and Katharine Thalberg, with both marriages ending in divorce. He had three daughters with Thalberg. Anderson died on August 31, 2017, from natural causes in Beverly Hills, California. He was 91.

Recognition

In 2007, Anderson was honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

Filmography

  • The Pearl
  • The Vanishing Westerner as Deputy Sheriff Jeff Jackson
  • A Life of Her Own as Hosiery Man
  • The Magnificent Yankee as Reynolds, Secretary
  • Grounds for Marriage as Tommy
  • Storm Warning as Interne
  • Payment on Demand as Jim Boland
  • Cause for Alarm! as Lonesome Sailor
  • Go for Broke! as Lieutenant
  • No Questions Asked as Detective Walter O'Bannion
  • Rich, Young and Pretty as Bob Lennart
  • The People Against O'Hara as Jeff Chapman
  • Across the Wide Missouri as Dick Richardson
  • The Unknown Man as Bob Masen
  • Just This Once as Tom Winters
  • Scaramouche as Philippe de Valmorin
  • Holiday for Sinners as Father Victor Carducci
  • Fearless Fagan as Capt. Daniels - Company J
  • The Story of Three Loves as Marcel
  • I Love Melvin as Harry Flack
  • Dream Wife as Henry Malvine
  • Give a Girl a Break as Burton Bradshaw
  • Escape from Fort Bravo as Lieutenant Beecher
  • The Student Prince as Lucas
  • Betrayed as John
  • Hit the Deck as Lt. Jackson
  • It's a Dog's Life as George Oakley
  • Western Union as Steve Gibson
  • Forbidden Planet as Engineering Officer Quinn
  • A Cry in the Night as Owen Clark
  • The Search for Bridey Murphy as Dr. Deering
  • Three Brave Men as Naval Lt. Bill Horton
  • The Buster Keaton Story as Tom McAffee
  • Paths of Glory as Major Saint-Auban
  • Merry Andrew as Ugo
  • The Long, Hot Summer as Alan Stewart
  • Curse of the Faceless Man as Dr. Paul Mallon
  • Zorro Season 2 Episode 10 “The Practical Joker” as Ricardo Del Amo
  • Zorro Season 2 Episode 11 “The Flaming Arrow” as Ricardo Del Amo.
  • Zorro Season 2 Episode 12 “Zorro Fights a Duel” as Ricardo Del Amo
  • Zorro Season 2 Episode 13 “Amnesty for Zorro” as Ricardo Del Amo
  • Compulsion as Max Steiner
  • The Rifleman as Tom Birch
  • The Gunfight at Dodge City as Dave Rudabaugh
  • The Wackiest Ship in the Army as Lt. Dennis M. Foster
  • The Rifleman as Lariat Jones
  • "The Rifleman" Episode "Miss Bertie" as a Gunslinger named, Duke Jennings
  • Thriller as Oliver Judson
  • The Rifleman Episode "Flowers by the Door" as Jason Gowdy
  • Wanted Dead or Alive Episode “Epitaph” as the Sheriff
  • "The Rifleman" Episode "Milly's Brother" as Harry Chase
  • The Rifleman Season 5, Episode 21, "The Bullet" as Griff
  • A Gathering of Eagles as Colonel Ralph Josten
  • Johnny Cool as Correspondent
  • Seven Days in May as Colonel Ben Murdock
  • Combat! as Sergeant Perkins in the episode "A Silent Cry" on ABC
  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Who needs an enemy? as Eddie
  • Kitten with a Whip as Grant
  • The Big Valley as Dr. Travers
  • Seconds as Dr. Innes
  • The F.B.I. as Christian Palmer
  • Perry Mason as Lt. Steve Drumm
  • The Green Hornet as Phil Trager
  • Mission: Impossible as judge in The Psychic
  • The Ride to Hangman's Tree as Steven Carlson
  • The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk as Fenton Hardy
  • The Invaders as Blake
  • "Wild, Wild West" as James Jeffers Ship Inspector
  • Big Valley as Nathan Springer
  • Land of the Giants as newspaper reporter Joe Simmons
  • Macho Callahan as Officer
  • Gunsmoke as Gregorio
  • Tora! Tora! Tora! as Navy Captain John B. Earle
  • Columbo as murder victim Bryce Chadwick
  • Doctors' Wives as D.A. Douglas
  • The Astronaut as Dr. Wylie
  • The F.B.I. as Dan Wheaton
  • The Honkers as Royce Owens
  • Play It as It Lays as Les Goodwin
  • The Longest Night as Harry Eaton
  • The Six Million Dollar Man as Oscar Goldman
  • Hawaii Five-O as Goodman
  • The F.B.I. as Paul Higgins
  • The Night Strangler as Dr. Richard Malcolm
  • Black Eye as Dole
  • Gunsmoke as Maj. Aaron Coltraine
  • The Bionic Woman as Oscar Goldman
  • Never Give Up as US Green Beret Officer
  • The Immigrants as Thomas Seldon
  • Murder by Natural Causes as George Brubaker
  • The French Atlantic Affair as Terrence Crown
  • Condominium as Henry Churchbridge
  • Darkroom as Bill Bellamy
  • Kane & Abel as Alan Lloyd
  • The Stepford Children as Lawrence Denton
  • Hoover vs. The Kennedys as Lyndon B. Johnson
  • The Player as Himself
  • Gettysburg as General George G. Meade
  • The Glass Shield as Watch Commander Clarence Massey
  • ''The Blood Trail''