{"id":379,"date":"2018-04-17T17:40:07","date_gmt":"2018-04-17T17:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/?p=379"},"modified":"2018-04-17T17:40:07","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T17:40:07","slug":"actor-harry-anderson-judge-night-court-dies-n-c-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2018\/04\/actor-harry-anderson-judge-night-court-dies-n-c-home.html","title":{"rendered":"Actor Harry Anderson, Judge on \u2018Night Court\u2019, Dies in His N.C. Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Harry_Anderson_(2091666491)\"<\/a>Harry Anderson of \u201cNight Court\u201d died in his home in Asheville, North Carolina. Anderson\u2019s body was found by police officers early Monday morning. He was 65 years old. No official cause of death has been released, but police stated that no foul play was suspected.<\/p>\n

Anderson was best known for his role as Harry Stone, a judge who worked at a Manhattan night court. Stone was a kindhearted but zany judge who dealt with a whole host of strange characters and cases. The NBC sitcom ran from 1984 to 1992 and also starred John Larroquette, Richard Moll, Charles Robinson, Marsha Warfield and Markie Post. Anderson\u2019s nine season run with \u201cNight Court\u201d earned him three consecutive Emmy nominations for his work on the show between 1985 and 1987. Anderson also directed two episodes of the show and worked as a writer or cowriter on five episodes of \u201cNight Court.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his run with \u201cNight Court,\u201d Anderson took on the role of Dave Barry in the CBS comedy \u201cDave\u2019s World.\u201d Following that show\u2019s four season run, Anderson had several guest roles including FX\u2019s \u201cSon of the Beach, \u201cNBC\u2019s \u201c30 Rock,\u201d \u201cTales From the Crypt,\u201d HBO\u2019s \u201cTanner \u201988,\u201d \u201cParker Lewis Can\u2019t Lose,\u201d \u201cThe John Larroquette Show\u201d and the ABC miniseries based on the famous Stephen King novel, \u201cIt.\u201d He also appeared in \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d and later hosted the show in 1985.<\/p>\n

Despite his guest appearances, Anderson largely avoided Hollywood after his run on \u201cNight Court.\u201d Instead, he and his wife, Elizabeth, opened the nightclub Oswald\u2019s Speakeasy in New Orleans in 2000 where Anderson performed. He and his wife also owned a magic and curiosity shop called Sideshow. Following the city\u2019s devastation by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the couple was unable to keep the businesses running though they tried to keep them open and support their community. They were unsuccessful and moved to North Carolina in the following year. When talking about the move, Anderson said that he was \u201cglad we tried to stay, but I don\u2019t want to be the person I will be if I stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though Anderson is best known for his role as an actor, he never thought of himself as such. \u201cI\u2019m a magician, or a performer, by nature,\u201d he said in 2014, \u201cand that\u2019s always what I\u2019ve been.\u201d As his fans can attest, Anderson knew how to put on a show both for his live audiences and for those behind the screen, and his performances will be missed.<\/p>\n