Harry Anderson
The tall, genial street hustler turned magician gained fame as the star of a popular long-running sitcom, “Night Court” (NBC, 1984-92). Playing oddball judge Harry Stone in the normally hardball world of the NYC legal system, Anderson brought a boyish exuberance to the potentially grim responsibilities of his fictional job. Judge Stone was actually one of the more laid-back members of a lively cast of characters. Some fans missed the smooth, duplicitous manner of his less savory earlier persona, “Harry the Hat,” a small-time con-man/magician on “Cheers.”
National TV audiences first encountered Anderson performing his unconventional magic on “Saturday Night Live”. Regardless of the role, his cleverness and charm remain a constant. Harry first turned to chicanery as an escape from the rigors of a transient childhood. At age 16, he was running a very lucrative shell game in San Francisco. He changed over to legitimate magic after a disgruntled “sucker” broke his jaw in 1970. Still the con man would be an essential component of his subsequent magician character. By 1973 he was performing many shows a day on street corners, at fairs, and eventually at college campuses and the booming comedy clubs.Most certainly Harry made his name with the success of “Night Court”. He became a TV staple, appearing in numerous guest spots (“Tonight Show”, “Tales From the Crypt”), Disney TV productions (a 1988 NBC remake of “The Absent –Minded Professor”), assorted specials, TV movies and miniseries including “Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs” (CBS, 1988), “Stephen King’s ‘It’” (ABC, 1990) and “Harvey” (CBS, 1995).
Following a personal hiatus, Harry signed for another stint as sitcom star, playing Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry on “Dave’s World” (CBS, 1993-97). Both “Night Court” and “Dave’s World” have experienced healthy after-lives in syndication, as has Harry’s comedy work on SNL, HBO, et al, keeping him constantly onscreen whether he likes it or not.Throughout it all, Harry has continued to develop his live stage performance as “Harry the Hat” and has fascinated and delighted audiences in casinos, theaters, nightclubs and corporate events around the country.
For now and the future Harry Anderson resides in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where he and his wife Elizabeth own and operate a magic shop; “Spade & Archer – Curiosities by Appointment”.The tall, genial street hustler turned magician gained fame as the star of a popular long-running sitcom, “Night Court” (NBC, 1984-92). Playing oddball judge Harry Stone in the normally hardball world of the NYC legal system, Anderson brought a boyish exuberance to the potentially grim responsibilities of his fictional job. Judge Stone was actually one of the more laid-back members of a lively cast of characters. Some fans missed the smooth, duplicitous manner of his less savory earlier persona, “Harry the Hat,” a small-time con-man/magician on “Cheers.”
National TV audiences first encountered Anderson performing his unconventional magic on “Saturday Night Live”. Regardless of the role, his cleverness and charm remain a constant. Harry first turned to chicanery as an escape from the rigors of a transient childhood. At age 16, he was running a very lucrative shell game in San Francisco. He changed over to legitimate magic after a disgruntled “sucker” broke his jaw in 1970. Still the con man would be an essential component of his subsequent magician character. By 1973 he was performing many shows a day on street corners, at fairs, and eventually at college campuses and the booming comedy clubs.Most certainly Harry made his name with the success of “Night Court”. He became a TV staple, appearing in numerous guest spots (“Tonight Show”, “Tales From the Crypt”), Disney TV productions (a 1988 NBC remake of “The Absent –Minded Professor”), assorted specials, TV movies and miniseries including “Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs” (CBS, 1988), “Stephen King’s ‘It’” (ABC, 1990) and “Harvey” (CBS, 1995).
Following a personal hiatus, Harry signed for another stint as sitcom star, playing Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry on “Dave’s World” (CBS, 1993-97). Both “Night Court” and “Dave’s World” have experienced healthy after-lives in syndication, as has Harry’s comedy work on SNL, HBO, et al, keeping him constantly onscreen whether he likes it or not.Throughout it all, Harry has continued to develop his live stage performance as “Harry the Hat” and has fascinated and delighted audiences in casinos, theaters, nightclubs and corporate events around the country.
For now and the future Harry Anderson resides in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where he and his wife Elizabeth own and operate a magic shop; “Spade & Archer – Curiosities by Appointment”.