CTVA - Profile - Actor - John Anderson
Profile - Actor - John Anderson imdb
JOHN ANDERSON WAS ALWAYS IN DEMAND FOR HIS
WIDE-RANGE PERFORMANCES AS
A CHARACTER ACTOR. PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS USED HIM IN ROLES THAT VARIED
FROM: CAR SALESMEN, WESTERN SHERIFFS AND VILLAINS, PREACHERS TO DOCTORS,
TO MILITARY OFFICERS AND BACKWOODS HILLBILLIES ONE OF JOHN'S FIRST TV
APPEARANCES BEGAN IN 1956 ON A "ZANE GREY THEATER"(1956-1961) SERIES EPISODE.
THEN CAME OTHER REGULAR ROLES, MAINLY WESTERNS. BEFORE TELEVISION, JOHN
ANDERSON APPEARED IN A FULL-LENGTH SWASHBUCKLER FEATURE:
"AGAINST ALL FLAGS"(1952) STARRING, ERROL FLYNN. AN UNCREDITED ROLE FOR
JOHN, BUT A START.
OTHER FEATURE FILMS TO HIS CREDIT WERE: THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK CLASSIC,
"PSYCHO"(1960), PLAYING THE PART OF 'CALIFORNIA CHARLIE', A CAR SALESMAN.
"RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY"(1962),
THE SATAN BUG"(1965),
"5 CARD STUD"(1968),
"COTTON COMES TO HARLEM"(1970),
"THE LINCOLN CONSPIRACY"(1977), PLAYING ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
"SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT II(1980).
BUT WHERE JOHN ANDERSON REALLY MADE HIS MARK AS AN ACTOR WAS TELEVISION.
THE MANY DIRECTORS AND PRODUCERS AT 'FOUR STAR PRODUCTIONS' LIKED JOHN
SO MUCH, THAT THEY USED HIM ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY IN ALL OF
THEIR PRODUCTIONS. JOHN ANDERSON PERFORMED IN
"THE RIFLEMAN"(1958-1963) SERIES ELEVEN TIMES.
OTHER SERIES INCLUDED:
"TRACKDOWN"(1957-1959),
"RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE (1957-1960),
"BLACK SADDLE"(1959-1960),
"THE DETECTIVES"(1959-1962),
"WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE"(1958-1960),
"JOHNNY RINGO"(1959-1960).
HIS CREDITS BEGAN TO BUILD WITH OTHER SERIES LIKE:
"SEA HUNT"(1958-1961),
"HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL"(1957-1963),
"THE CALIFORNIANS"(1957-1959),
"THE UNTOUCHABLES"(1959-1963),
"THE OUTER LIMITS"(1963-1965),
"ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS"(1955-1965),
"THE RAT PATROL"(1966-1968),
AND AN IMPRESSIVE LIST OF MADE FOR TV MOVIES, CONSISTING OF:
"NORTH AND SOUTH"(1985), A MINI TV SERIES,
"DONNER PASS:THE ROAD TO SURVIVAL(1978),
"BACKSTAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE"(1979), A MINI TV SERIES,
"SINS OF THE PAST"(1984),
"AMERICAN HARVEST"(1987),
AND OTHERS.
WHEN WATCHING JOHN ANDERSON PERFORM, THE TWO THINGS THAT ALWAYS PREVAILED
WAS HIS TALL-LEAN BODY STRUCTURE AND THE DISTINCT SOUND OF HIS VOICE, THAT
FREQUENTLY CHANGED WHEN HE WAS PERFORMING HIS MANY CHARACTER ROLES. JOHN
ANDERSON'S LAST PERFORMANCE AS AN ACTOR WAS A TV MOVIE TITLED:
"BED OF LIES"(1992).
THE NEXT TIME YOU WATCH AN EPISODE OF "THE RIFLEMAN", YOU'LL PROBABLY BE
TREATED TO A CLASSIC JOHN ANDERSON PERFORMANCE.