# Harry Anderson Dead at 65 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [April 16, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547 "2018-04-16T23:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/21 "2018-04-17T02:13:13Z")
Damn. I remember being shocked when I learned that the part of Harry Stone was _not_ written specifically for Harry Anderson. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/22 "2018-04-17T02:22:04Z")
65? That is way too young. ☹ _sad Bull noise_ ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/23 "2018-04-17T02:27:38Z")
I always envision him when I think about Dave Barry instead of–you know–Dave Barry. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/24 "2018-04-17T02:30:14Z")
Good night, Harry. Tell Houdini to drop by some time. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/25 "2018-04-17T02:30:50Z")
Anyone else remember his appearances on Saturday Night Live? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/26 "2018-04-17T02:39:54Z")
Also, snapped pencil, raised hands, table, doll. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/27 "2018-04-17T02:57:28Z")
WTF? Dead? Of “natural causes”? There are “natural causes” that kill you off at 65 these days? Damn shame, had tons of fun watching him. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/28 "2018-04-17T03:08:20Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Anyone else remember his appearances on Saturday Night Live? There was a Three Card Monte routine he did on SNL that I watched several times. It had a great, relaxed, old-fashioned but articulate vibe to it, and the magic was pretty good. When I figured out how it was done it was just beautiful in its simplicity. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/29 "2018-04-17T03:09:10Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > WTF? Dead? Of “natural causes”? There are “natural causes” that kill you off at 65 these days? There are lots of causes that are natural but not simple. Anyway, it’s just shorthand for “in case you were wondering, no he didn’t kill himself” - to the extent that the apparent literal meaning is hardly worth exploring - I don’t suppose it _ever_ meant the literal meaning. “Natural causes” means “pretty much any way except murder or suicide or tragic accident” - it doesn’t mean “causes that you’d immediately classify as natural”. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/30 "2018-04-17T03:24:53Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > How could he possibly be 65?! I’m surprised he wasn’t older, he wasn’t even 30 when night court started. ---
**Author:** ![TaoPilot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TaoPilot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaoPilot)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/31 "2018-04-17T06:54:02Z")
Damn. I grew up watching this show at the tail end of Must See TV after Cosby, Family Ties, and Cheers. Caught it on reruns many times after that. I just finished the 7th season of a Night Court binge last night and then woke up to find out he was gone. My father was also a judge, and he passed away a few years ago. Now both of the judges from my childhood are gone =( RIP Harry ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/32 "2018-04-17T11:24:55Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Anyone else remember his appearances on Saturday Night Live? “Me and Skip were just kidding, folks!” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/33 "2018-04-17T11:42:10Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Ah crap, I forgot he existed. Now that I remember, I’m sads. This is pretty much how I feel. I haven’t seen him on TV in years, forgot all about him, but Night Court was one of my favorite shows when it was on. Bummer. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/34 "2018-04-17T12:27:15Z")
> [@neofishboy](#): > > Aw man. Harry the Hat was my favorite minor recurring character on _Cheers_. Loved his stage show too. I loved him on Cheers. Just this past weekend I watched the ep where he and Coach con the card sharp that fleeced Coach, one of my faves. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/35 "2018-04-17T13:12:23Z")
I am in utter shock. Anderson was a huge Mel Tourme fan, and I loved the way they put him into the show. He was the voice of both sanity and tolerance in his crazy world. A lesson for us all. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/36 "2018-04-17T13:40:23Z")
When it was on, Night Court was my favorite sitcom (and I always got so mad when it was preempted for Days and Nights of Molly Dodd) and I always enjoyed Anderson’s performance. I also enjoyed his appearances on SNL and Cheers but mostly missed Dave’s World when it was on. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/37 "2018-04-17T13:41:48Z")
We watched the run of _Cheers_ shows with Diane in them a while back. His _Cheers_ character was really great. Too bad they watered down his _Night Court_ character. The other characters tended to outshine his. _Night Court_ appears to hit the sweet spot in popularity in reruns. Just enough interest that OTA secondary channels will carry it but not so popular that the fees are too high to justify running them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/38 "2018-04-17T14:34:36Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > His _Cheers_ character was really great. Too bad they watered down his _Night Court_ character. The other characters tended to outshine his. Only Sane Man. Just by comparison, in that particular crowd, he was, despite his own hijinks. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/39 "2018-04-17T15:36:37Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I was in Paul’s Magic & Fun Shop the day Paul hung up on Harry. I liked Mr. Anderson’s show and I loved his stage act, but I had no sympathy for him that day. Still, I could never bring myself to dislike the guy: he was just too ddamned much fun to watch. > > RIP Harry. Is this a well known story or just a personal anecdote? Either way I would like to hear more. Harry was one of those celebrities that I had never heard negative comments about. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547/40 "2018-04-17T15:48:51Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > “Me and Skip were just kidding, folks!” Nothing had me laughing as much as when he was doing the “skewer through the arm” routine. “Oh, c’mon! It’s just a trick!” Guess you had to be watching. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-anderson-dead-at-65/812547.md?page=3)