Erich Anderson, a veteran actor who found his breakthrough role in “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” and was a recurring character on shows such as “Felicity,” “Bosch” and “Thirtysomething,” has died. He was 67 years old.
Anderson's wife, actor Saxton Trainor, confirmed the news via Instagram, but declined to release a statement because she was “too heartbroken to write anything.” Instead, she shared a statement from Anderson's brother-in-law, Michael O'Malley, that said the actor died Friday after a “brutal fight with cancer.”
“Erich was an incredible person,” Anderson's manager, Chris Carbaugh, told the Times. “He was a great actor, author, cook, husband, friend and human being. …Erich was an avid sports fan and loved cheering on his beloved San Diego Padres baseball team. He was always the smartest, funniest person in the room and had a big heart. … Erich will be greatly missed.”
O'Malley, meanwhile, wrote that his brother-in-law “was a smart, funny guy, a fantastic cook; He wrote three great novels. … I will miss him, but his ordeal is over.”
Anderson first found success when, as O'Malley characterized him, he “got killed in a basement” in the “Friday the 13th” sequel. He later appeared in “Thirtysomething” as Billy Sidel, the blind date-turned-husband of Ellyn Warren (Polly Draper), and in “Felicity” as Dr. Edward Porter, father of Keri Russell's main character.
He appeared in individual episodes of shows such as “Murder, She Wrote,” “CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “House,” “Bones,” and “NCIS.” In total, according to her website, she appeared in more than 300 television episodes, 50 stage productions and 20 feature films.
The actor, who was born in 1957 in Sagamihara, Japan, later graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.
He was a prolific writer of episodic television scripts and, according to his website, had a “file cabinet full of unproduced scripts.” Anderson published three novels: “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “Thy Kingdom Come,” and “Rabbit: A Golf Fable.”
Eve Gordon, who played Anderson's on-screen wife, Barbara Porter, in “Felicity,” posted a touching tribute to her co-star on Instagram, calling the actor “a magnificent part of the world.”
“I loved him,” she wrote. “I wish you had met him, there was no one like him. So funny, so open to whatever his day brought, so wickedly cynical and joyful at the same time.”
Gordon described how even after their characters got divorced on “Felicity” and no longer saw each other on set, they would meet up around Los Angeles and talk for hours.
“Ah, look at this Erich, I'm using the past tense,” he wrote. “My friend, I hope to see you again in dreams and other dimensions. Fly high, my friend.”
