RIP Bob Anderson
You may not know his name, but any movie buff knows his face.
Bob Anderson, who played young George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” has died.
He died Friday of cancer at his home in Palm Springs, his wife, Victoria, told the Associated Press on Saturday.
Anderson grew up in a Hollywood family, with his father and other relatives working behind the scenes in films.
He was introduced to films when family members arranged for him to appear in a movie scene that called for a baby, his wife told the AP.
At age 7 he had a role in the 1940 Shirley Temple movie “Young People.” He went on to play parts in such films as 1945′s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”
But he was best known for playing young George – who was played as an adult by Jimmy Stewart – in Frank Capra’s classic Christmas movie. One of his most famous scenes - in which he catches a potentially fatal mistake made by the drunken druggist he worked for - played by H.B. Warner, was apparently as painful as it looked on film.
Anderson told the Los Angeles Times in 1996 Warner actually drank to prep for the role and really did strike him and bloody his ear. But when shooting of the scene was over, Warner hugged him.
Anderson enlisted in the Navy during the Korean War and served as a photographer on aircraft carriers, his wife told the AP.
After the war, he spent four decades in the movie industry. From the 1950s through the 1990s, he moved from second assistant director to production manager for movies and television shows, his wife also said in the AP obituary.
Our thoughts are with Anderson’s wife and other loved ones. Hopefully, he really did have a wonderful life. He certainly made our Christmases wonderful.
-BAM
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He will be missed…