Night Court star Harry Anderson dies at 65
Actor Harry Anderson, best known for starring in Night Court and Dave's World, was found dead in his Asheville, North Carolina, home Monday morning. He was 65.
Police say no foul play is suspected. Born in Rhode Island in 1952, Anderson moved to Los Angeles as a teen, and after graduating from Hollywood High School, he moved to San Francisco, where he reportedly made money as a street magician. Following a guest spot on Saturday Night Live, Anderson was approached by Cheers producer Les Charles, who asked if he'd be a guest star on the show. From there, Anderson landed the role of Judge Harry T. Stone on Night Court.
"I guess they figured I was an actor," he told the Bradenton Herald. "I never auditioned for anything. I had the scripts next to me behind the bench. They named the character Harry so I'd remember to react when someone said my name. By the time they figured out that I couldn't act scared on the subway at 4 a.m., I already had a five-year contract." He also appeared in the 1990 television adaptation of Stephen King's It, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, 30 Rock, and The John Larroquette Show.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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