Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Harry Anderson

Magician Harry Anderson has passed away at age 65. I say "magician" and not "actor" because to me Harry Anderson was first and foremost a magician.

Anderson started off as a street magician in San Francisco but I first saw him doing his magic on the original Saturday Night Live. (That was way back when they had magicians like Anderson and Penn & Teller on the show.)

Then came Anderson's occasional appearances on Cheers as Harry "the Hat" a con-man who was at heart still a fast-talking street performer. Then came Night Court where he played the affable Harry T. Stone. Night Court remains an under-appreciated sitcom but I think much of its success was from people thinking that Anderson was basically playing himself. He was that likable.

Anderson had other acting roles but for the last decade he's been basically out of "the business". The joy he brought to people in the 1970's and 80's would be tough to match by any performer from that time. 65 was way too young. He will be missed.

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