Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, and
magician. He is best known for the lead role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984–1992 television series
Night Court, and later starred in the sitcom
Dave's World from 1993 to 1997.
In addition to eight appearances on
Saturday Night Live between 1981 and 1985, Anderson had a recurring guest role as con man Harry "The Hat" Gittes on
Cheers, toured extensively as a magician, and did several magic/comedy shows for broadcast, including
Harry Anderson's Sideshow (1987). He played Richie Tozier in the 1990 miniseries
It, based on the
Stephen King novel
of the same
Career
Anderson's many appearances on
Saturday Night Live led to his role as Harry "The Hat" Gittes on several seasons of the television sitcom
Cheers, and eventually as Judge Harry Stone on the long-running sitcom
Night Court.
[5] Anderson went on to appear in other television specials and shows, including 12 appearances on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
[6] As a magician, Anderson toured extensively and performed in comedy/magic shows for clubs and broadcast, including
Harry Anderson's Sideshow in 1987.
[3] In 1990, he starred in the television adaptation of
Stephen King's It as the adult Richie Tozier.
[7] From 1993 to 1997, Anderson starred in the television sitcom
Dave's World, based loosely on the life and columns of humor columnist
Dave Barry.
[8]
Anderson with his first wife, Leslie Pollack, at the
39th Primetime Emmy Awards, September 1987
Together with longtime friend
Turk Pipkin, Anderson wrote a book called
Games You Can't Lose: A Guide for Suckers, a collection of gags,
cons, tricks, and scams. First published in 1989 (
ISBN 978-1-58080-086-0, 2001 reprint), this title also contains a survey of "Games You Can't Win" told from an insider's perspective.
[9] He appeared with
Criss Angel in a TV special called
The Science of Magic, later released on DVD.
[10] In November 2008, Anderson played himself on
an episode of 30 Rock along with fellow former
Night Court cast members
Markie Post and
Charles Robinson.
Anderson kept a nominally low profile after
Dave's World was canceled.
[9] He moved from
Pasadena, California, to
New Orleans in 2002.
[5] In 2002, he and his second wife Elizabeth (whom he met in New Orleans while she was bartending)
[12] opened a small shop in the
French Quarternamed "Spade & Archer Curiosities by Appointment", (later named "Sideshow"), selling various "magic, curiosities, and apocrypha".
In 2000, Anderson hosted the pilot for a potential revival of the classic panel game show
What's My Line? for CBS primetime.
In 2005, Anderson opened a nightclub in the French Quarter called Oswald's Speakeasy, located at 1331 Decatur Street at the corner of Esplanade Avenue. He performed a one-man show there called
Wise Guy.
Anderson appeared in
Hexing a Hurricane, a documentary about the first six months in New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina.
[5][16] He and his wife Elizabeth sold Oswald's Speakeasy in October 2006.
[16] Anderson continued to present his evening show
Wise Guy, which was originally developed for his theater in New Orleans.
[16]
In his final years, Anderson appeared in television comedy specials such as in
Comedy Bang! Bang! (2013) and
Gotham Comedy Live (2014).
His final film portrayal was as Professor Kaman in the 2014 Christian drama film
A Matter of Faith.
