“Just think of the fun I’ll have with good old George over the coming years.” This is one of my favorite lines from the 1979 TV movie Murder By Natural Causes. This line – nor this film – doesn’t mean much to the average Joe, but it was always one of my favorites when I was a kid and I was thrilled to be meeting my second actor within one week from this very film. The script penned by Columbo writers Richard Levinson and William Link had earlier received kudos from actor Barry Bostwick when I met him at the Hollywood Collectors Show on October 4, 2008 (as seen here). Now I was curious as to what Richard Anderson would have to say.
Anderson is much better known for his role in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman as their mutual boss Oscar Goldman. He was also a staple character actor throughout the 60’s and 70’s in most of the well-known TV dramas and westerns such as The Untouchables, The Rifleman, Bonanza, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, and Columbo. His numerous film appearances included Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory and the classic sci-fi flick Forbidden Planet.
As a celebrity guest at the weekend Lone Pine Film Festival, Anderson was participating in a question and answer session at 8:15am on the brisk morning of Saturday, October 11, 2008. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans’ daughter Cheryl was conducting the interview in Statham Hall. Anderson was very interesting and I immediately recognized his characteristic deep and affluent voice, as he had employed in Natural Causes.
Richard Anderson is interviewed by Cheryl Rogers
After the interview, he stuck around to sell some autographed photos. As I had already had Bob purchase one for me at one of the Hollywood Collectors Shows in 1997, I merely wanted a photo with him. After waiting for him to finish chatting with some other fans, he begrudgingly agreed to a photo.
Hanging out with Good Old Mr. Anderson
However, when I mentioned Murder By Natural Causes and his role as ‘Good Old’ George Brubaker, he immediately brightened up. “That was a great script” he told me, and went on to rave about how much he enjoyed working on the film and the finished product.
It seems everyone likes this film, so why hasn’t it been released on DVD?
Celebrities from the 2008 Lone Pine Film Festival will continue…
By everyone, you mean, you and Richard Anderson?
Heidi
May 25th, 2009