CINEFILER

John Anderson

Born
October 20, 1922
Died
August 7, 1992
John Robert Anderson (October 20, 1922 – August 7, 1992) A tall, sinewy, austere-looking character actor with silver hair, rugged features and a distinctive voice, John Robert Anderson appeared in hundreds of films and television episodes. Immensely versatile, he was at his best submerging himself in the role of historical figures (he impersonated Abraham Lincoln three times and twice baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, men whom he strongly resembled). He was a familiar presence in westerns and science-fiction serials, usually as upstanding, dignified and generally benign citizens (a rare exception was his Ebonite interrogator in The Outer Limits (1963) episode "Nightmare"). He had a high opinion of Rod Serling and was proud to be featured in four episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959), most memorably as the tuxedo-clad angel Gabriel in "A Passage for Trumpet" (doing for Jack Klugman what Henry Travers did for James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)).
Known For
Psycho
(1960)
California Charlie
Last Train from Gun Hill
(1959)
Salesman
Soldier Blue
(1970)
Col. Iverson
Smokey and the Bandit II
(1980)
Governor
The Fortune Cookie
(1966)
Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
Eight Men Out
(1988)
Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
5 Card Stud
(1968)
Marshal Dana
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
(1951)
Ride the High Country
(1962)
Elder Hammond
The Hallelujah Trail
(1965)
Sgt. Buell
Day of the Evil Gun
(1968)
Captain Jefferson Addis
Welcome to Hard Times
(1967)
Ezra Maple / Isaac Maple
Geronimo
(1962)
Jeremiah Burns
Out of the Blue
(1981)
T.V. Interviewer
Daddy
(1991)
George Watson
Full Filmography
Acting
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
(1951)
The True Story of Lynn Stuart
(1958)
Doc
Last Train from Gun Hill
(1959)
Salesman
Psycho
(1960)
California Charlie
The Wackiest Ship in the Army
(1960)
Sailor (uncredited)
Geronimo
(1962)
Jeremiah Burns
Walk on the Wild Side
(1962)
Preacher
Ride the High Country
(1962)
Elder Hammond
For the Love of Willadean
(1964)
Farmer Wills
The Satan Bug
(1965)
Agent Reagan
The Hallelujah Trail
(1965)
Sgt. Buell
Scalplock
(1966)
Standish
The Fortune Cookie
(1966)
Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
Namu, the Killer Whale
(1966)
Joe Clausen
Welcome to Hard Times
(1967)
Ezra Maple / Isaac Maple
A Covenant with Death
(1967)
Dietrich
5 Card Stud
(1968)
Marshal Dana
Day of the Evil Gun
(1968)
Captain Jefferson Addis
A Man Called Gannon
(1968)
Capper
Young Billy Young
(1969)
Boone
Heaven with a Gun
(1969)
Ase Beck
The Great Bank Robbery
(1969)
Mayor Kincaid
The Animals
(1970)
Sheriff Allan Pierce
Cotton Comes to Harlem
(1970)
Capt. Bryce
Soldier Blue
(1970)
Col. Iverson
The Andersonville Trial
(1970)
Ambrose Spencer
Man and Boy
(1971)
Stretch
The Stepmother
(1972)
Inspector Darnezi
Molly and Lawless John
(1972)
Sheriff Marvin Parker
Executive Action
(1973)
Halliday
Call to Danger
(1973)
Counselor at Crime
(1973)
Don Vito Albanese
Set This Town on Fire
(1973)
Henry Kealey
Heatwave!
(1974)
Toler
Smile Jenny, You're Dead
(1974)
Col. John Lockport
Manhunter
(1974)
Aaron Denver
The Dove
(1974)
Mike Turk
Dead Man on the Run
(1975)
Jason Monroe
The Specialist
(1975)
Pike Smith
Bridger
(1976)
President Andrew Jackson
The Quest
(1976)
Army Officer
The Dark Side of Innocence
(1976)
Stephen Hancock
The Force of Evil
(1977)
Sheriff John Carrington
Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion
(1977)
Alexander Majors
The Last Hurrah
(1977)
Amos Force
The Lincoln Conspiracy
(1977)
Abraham Lincoln
The Deerslayer
(1978)
Hutter
Donner Pass: The Road to Survival
(1978)
Patrick Breen
In Search of Historic Jesus
(1979)
Caiaphas
Smokey and the Bandit II
(1980)
Governor
Zoot Suit
(1981)
Judge F.W. Charles
Out of the Blue
(1981)
T.V. Interviewer
Missing Children: A Mother's Story
(1982)
Stanley Willard
Sins of the Past
(1984)
Rev. Donald Randolph
Never Too Young to Die
(1986)
Arliss
I-Man
(1986)
Holbrook
Scorpion
(1986)
Noel G. Koch
American Harvest
(1987)
Judge Meriweather
Eight Men Out
(1988)
Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal
(1989)
George Dutton
Deadly Innocents
(1989)
Gus
Follow Your Heart
(1990)
Josh Lowe
Babe Ruth
(1991)
Judge Landis
Daddy
(1991)
George Watson
In Broad Daylight
(1991)
Wes Westerman
Bed of Lies
(1992)
Price Daniel, Sr.
24 Hour Psycho
(1993)
California Charlie (archive footage)
Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone
(1994)
Virgil Earp (flashback sequence) (archive footage)
Writing
Data provided by TMDB