Robert James Anderson (March 6, 1933 – June 6, 2008) was an American

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

and television producer, whose roles included young George Bailey in ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet '' The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loo ...

''.

Life and career

Bobby Anderson was born in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, to a show business family. He was the son of Eugene Randolph Anderson, an assistant director and production manager, and Marie Augusta Fleischer, and his brothers and cousins were editors and production managers in their own right. He was also the nephew, by marriage, of directors

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

and

James Flood James Joseph Flood (1895-1953) was an American film director. Born in New York City, Flood became an assistant director with Biograph in 1912 and was active through 1952. Career When working on '' The Swellhead'', Flood decided he wanted to ...

, both of whom were married to Anderson's mother's sisters. Anderson's film career as an actor was brief. In addition to his featured role as Young George Bailey in ''

'', Anderson had a cameo in ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

''. He appeared in the TV show '' Spin and Marty'' and he made his last film in 1956. Anderson enlisted in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

, serving as a photographer on aircraft carriers. After his time in the Navy, he went on to work behind the scenes in assistant directing, then later production with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, Warner Bros., Universal, HBO,

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

on such films and TV shows as ''

The Apartment ''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, ...

'', ''

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

'', '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'', '' Code Red'', '' Police Story'', and ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fe ...

''. He also worked as a line producer and production consultant for films such as '' Passenger 57'', '' Demolition Man'' and ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

''.

Death

He died of cancer at age 75 at his home in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by la ...

. He was survived by his wife, 3 sons, 3 daughters and 11 grandchildren.

Partial filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Bobby 1933 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male child actors United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Deaths from cancer in California Male actors from Los Angeles United States Navy sailors