American actor (1922?2016)
Arthur Anderson
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Born
| Arthur John Miles Anderson
(
1922-08-29
)
August 29, 1922
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Died
| April 9, 2016
(2016-04-09)
(aged 93)
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Occupation
| Actor
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Years active
| 1933?2016
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Spouse
|
Alice Middleton
(
m.
1963; died 2015)
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Children
| 1
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Arthur John Miles Anderson
(August 29, 1922 – April 9, 2016) was an American actor of radio, film, television, and stage.
Early years
[
edit
]
Anderson was born August 29, 1922, on Staten Island, New York. His parents, George Christian Anderson and Violet Brookfield Anderson, came from Denmark and England respectively. He was educated at the
Professional Children's School
in Manhattan.
[1]
"He first came to radio through a children's community playhouse and started appearing regularly in 1934 on
Uncle Nick Kenny's Radio Kindergarten
at
WMCA
."
[2]
Let's Pretend
[
edit
]
As a child, he was heard on NBC in the role of the orphan Buddy on the radio network's musical serial drama,
Tony and Gus
(1935).
[1]
The following year he joined the cast of
Nila Mack
's
Let's Pretend
and continued on that children's program until it came to an end in 1954. In 2004, he wrote a history of the show,
Let's Pretend and the Golden Age of Radio
(BearManor Media), which includes a foreword by
Norman Corwin
and a complete broadcast log by Derek Tague and
Martin Grams, Jr.
[3]
Other radio
[
edit
]
Anderson acted in Welles's
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
, his
CBS Radio
series as characters in "
Treasure Island
", "
Julius Caesar
" and "
Sherlock Holmes
". Additional radio credits include the juvenile quiz show,
March of Games
(1938?1941), produced by Nila Mack and featuring many of the young actors from
Let's Pretend
.
Stage
[
edit
]
Anderson appeared in
Orson Welles
's
Mercury Theatre
production of
Caesar
on Broadway, as portrayed as the character Richard Samuels in the 2008 film
Me and Orson Welles
. His other Broadway credits include
1776
,
Il Trovatore
,
Aida
,
Carmen
,
Good Neighbor
, and
The Shoemakers' Holiday
.
[4]
From serials to cereals
[
edit
]
Beginning in 1963 he was the voice of the
General Mills
Lucky Charms
mascot Lucky the
Leprechaun
, continuing the character for 29 years even though he is not Irish. In 2005, he recalled:
- People have expectations. I just have an Irish-sounding name. I have reason to celebrate. I had the luck of the Irish to get that part. I never got free cereal, but they gave me lots of green money. And it was a fun character to play. Hardly a day goes by when somebody doesn't ask me to sing the Lucky Charms jingle, and I'm proud of that.
[5]
Television and film
[
edit
]
Anderson succeeded
Lionel Wilson
as the voice of
Eustace Bagge
in
Courage the Cowardly Dog
. His film credits include
Midnight Cowboy
,
Zelig
,
Green Card
and
I'm Not Rappaport
, and his onscreen television appearances include episodes of
Car 54, Where Are You?
,
Route 66
, and
Law & Order
.
Later years
[
edit
]
Late in life, Anderson was active in Friends of Old Time Radio,
[1]
a group that recreated broadcasts using the original scripts and was a regular participant in their conventions. He appeared at the convention 30 times, the most of any actor. He appeared at the very last convention on October 23, 2011. In 2012, he took on the role of honorary chairman for the successor event to Friends of Old Time Radio, NY OTR, which took place on October 12?13, 2012.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Anderson was married to casting director Alice Middleton. They had one daughter.
[1]
Death
[
edit
]
Anderson died at his
Manhattan
home on April 9, 2016, at age 93.
[1]
Autobiography
[
edit
]
An Actor's Odyssey: Orson Welles to Lucky the Leprechaun,
by Arthur Anderson. Albany, 2010. BearManor Media.
ISBN
1-59393-522-6
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Roberts, Sam (April 12, 2016).
"Arthur Anderson, Voice of Lucky Charms Cereal's Leprechaun, Dies at 93"
.
The New York Times
. New York, New York City. Archived from
the original
on 27 January 2018
. Retrieved
27 January
2018
.
- ^
DeLong, Thomas A. (1996).
Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960
. McFarland & Company, Inc.
ISBN
978-0-7864-2834-2
. Pp. 11-12.
- ^
Anderson, Arthur.
Let's Pretend and the Golden Age of Radio
. BearManor Media, 2004.
ISBN
1-59393-019-4
Archived
May 5, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Arthur Anderson"
.
Internet Broadway Database
. The Broadway League. Archived from
the original
on 27 January 2018
. Retrieved
27 January
2018
.
- ^
Wolf, Buck. ABC News: "Lucky Charms Leprechaun: 'I'm Not Irish'," March 15. 2005.
External links
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International
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National
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Other
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