Harry Anderson, the actor and comedian best known for playing the zany Judge Harry T. Stone on the NBC sitcom “Night Court,” died on April , 018, at his home in Asheville, North Carolina. He was 65 years old. His death followed a bout of influenza and several subsequent strokes.
The cause was reported as stroke due to influenza and heart disease. He was cremated, and his ashes were given to family or friends. Born Harry Laverne Anderson on October 14, 1952, in Newport, Rhode Island, he led a wandering early life. As a young man, he reportedly performed street magic and ran shell games on the streets of Chicago, New York City, St.
Louis, and New Orleans. That life was not without risk; he once had his jaw broken while working a shell game. After moving to California, he joined the Dante Magic Club and worked as a street magician in San Francisco. He later graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1970 as class valedictorian.
He attended Fullerton College in the early 1970s and spent time in Ashland, Oregon, performing magic and working with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Anderson’s television career took off with appearances on“Saturday Night Live” over the years, which helped land him the recurring role of Harry the Hat on episodes of“Cheers. ” In 1984, he began starring on“Night Court,” which ran until 1992. His portrayal of the whimsical, magic-loving Judge Stone earned him three Emmy nominations. A longtime fan of singer Mel Tormé, Anderson even brought the crooner onto the show as a recurring presence
Beyond“Night Court,” Anderson toured extensively with comedy magic shows.
He headlined“Harry Anderson’s Sideshow” in 1987, played the adult Bill Denbrough in the 1990 television adaptation of Stephen King’s“It,” and starred from 1993 to 1997 in the sitcom“Dave’s World,” a series loosely based on the humor columns of writer Dave Barry
Anderson moved from Pasadena, California, to New Orleans in 2002. In the French Quarter, he opened a small magic shop and a nightclub called Oswald’s Speak Easy. There, he performed a one-man show titled“Wise Guy. ” He refused to leave the city during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, eventually evacuating only after firefighters at a nearby station said they were leaving.
In November 2008, he appeared as himself on an episode of“30 Rock” alongside fellow“Night Court” cast members Markie Post and Charles Robinson, both of whom have since died
Anderson was married twice. He married Leslie Pollock in 1977; the couple had two children before divorcing in 1999. In 2000, he married Elizabeth Morgan. The couple later moved from New Orleans to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2006.
Anderson passed away there in April 018, with his death receiving relatively little national attention at the time
