Neville Anderson (born 18 July 1947) known professionally as Andy Anderson and also billed as Andy James, is a New Zealand musician and actor who primarily worked in Australia.
Early life Anderson was born in Naenae, Lower Hutt. He attended Naenae College, where he started playing in pop and rock and roll bands. At the age of 16, he relocated to Sydney to sing and drum in soul clubs for returned soldiers from Vietnam. In his early years, he also worked for Parks and Reserves.
Career
Music Anderson performed in several well-known Australian rock bands of the 1960s, in 1965 he joined the second lineup of famed Sydney garage punk group the Missing Links as lead vocalist, and he performed on the group's only album. After the demise of the Links, he moved to Melbourne and joined another radical punk-R&B outfit, Running Jumping Standing Still, which also included lead guitarist Doug Ford, who subsequently joined the Masters Apprentices. He sang with the avant-garde theatre group Red Mole for a time.
Anderson was well known for his outrageous stage performances but his wild lifestyle at the time took a heavy toll and in late 1966 he was hospitalised after suffering a brain haemorrhage onstage at Melbourne's Thumpin' Tum discothèque. After his recovery, Anderson formed two short-lived Melbourne bands, Andy James Asylum, followed by Mother Superior, before moving back to Sydney, where he joined the cast of the Australian production of Hair for a short time during 1970. This was followed by an 18-month stint with Sydney club band Southern Comfort, with co-vocalist Bobbi Marchini.
Anderson returned to his music career in the 2000s, recording a solo album called If I'd Known I'd Live This Long... in 2003. The same year, he participated in a reunion of Southern Comfort in Sydney.
In 2017, Anderson released his next album, Andersongs. In 2019, at the age 71, he was writing and making music, based in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Film and television After taking a hiatus from music, Anderson returned to working as a gardener, before turning his attention to acting. Upon sending out a photo and a written submission, Anderson attracted the attention of New Zealand's South Pacific Television. He joined the cast of Radio Waves in 1979, playing the part of a stoned DJ.
He then returned to Australia and began performing regularly on Australian TV from the mid-1970s to appear in The Sullivans, playing the role of Jim Sullivan. Regular roles in numerous television series followed, including Gloss as Matt Winter, Prisoner as Rick Manning, Fire as John Kennedy and a starring role in the talking-dog sitcom The Bob Morrison Show as Steve Morrison.
He had a prominent featured role as detective Lochie Renford in the first season of the acclaimed ABC TV police series Phoenix (1992–1993). In 2012 he had a recurring featured role as Vince, the minder of drug lord Harry Montebello, in the ABC crime drama series The Straits.
His guest appearances on television have included The Flying Doctors, Halifax f.p., A Country Practice, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Heartbreak High, Water Rats, All Saints, Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Stingers, Packed to the Rafters, Sea Patrol, McLeod's Daughters and The Man from Snowy River.
On film, Anderson is known for playing the role of John Livingston in the Hollywood film Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) and also starred in House of Wax (2005) and Tracker (2010). He also had cameos in Swerve and Honk if You're Horny.
Personal life Anderson moved to Palmerston North in New Zealand with his wife Karen, prior to rebooting his music career. He has a daughter, Christal.
In 1966, during his early music career, Anderson was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, and spent two weeks in hospital. His alcoholism saw him suffer from a bout of Pancreatitis, landing him in intensive care. He eventually went to rehabilitation for alcoholism in Hanmer Springs.
Selected filmography
Film Year Title Role Note 1984 Trespasses Albie Stone Feature film 1988 New York's Finest Mr Fullright Direct-to-video film1989 Il Magistrato Tony Film Gordon Bennett Short film Zilch! Lawyer Feature film 1993 Ruby in Paradise Nursey Family Feature film 2000 Soledad Parlorman Short film2002 Black and White Norman Geiseman Feature film Garage Days Kevin Feature film 2004 Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid John Livingston Feature film 2005 House of Wax Sheriff Feature film 2006 Opal Dream Nichols Feature film 2010 Tracker Bryce Feature film 2011 Swerve Ambulance Officer Feature film Clicked Brian Short film 2012 Honk If You're Horny Terry Short film
Television Year Title Role Note 1978 Radio Waves Paul Headley 62 episodes 1980–1983 The Sullivans Jim Sullivan Regular role 1983–1993 A Country Practice Sean Thomas / Malcolm Roberts / Colin Townsend 5 episodes 1984 Prisoner Rick Manning 38 episodes1985 Robbery Under Arms George TV movie Roche Tony 8 episodes 1986 The Great Bookie Robbery Tony Lott Miniseries, 3 episodes 1987 The Haunting of Barney Palmer John Palmer TV movie 1987–1990 Gloss Matt Winter Regular role1989 The Shadow Trader Don Santos 2 episodes The Magistrate Tony 6 episodes 1989; 1990 The Flying Doctors Jim Sexton / Peter 2 episodes1990; 1992 The New Adventures of Black Beauty Ship's Captain Pollock Raider of the South Seas Bill Taylor TV series 1990–1996 G.P. Gerald Butler / Peter Curtis / Warren Taylor 3 episodes1991 The Boy from Andromeda Tosh 6 episodes Gold: The World's Play Henry Garrick TV movie Gold: The Merchants of Venus Henry Garrick TV movie Gold: Frenchie's Gold Henry Garrick TV movie Gold: A Fistful of Gold Henry Garrick TV movie 1991–1992 Gold Henry Garrick 16 episodes 1992 Phoenix Lochie Renford / Ray Vann 13 episodes Marlin Bay Steve Gannaway 1993 Seven Deadly Sins Colin Miniseries, 1 episode 1994 Singapore Sling Hooper TV movie The Bob Morrison Show Steve Morrison 26 episodes Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (aka The Man from Snowy River) Harry Roebuck 1 episode Coverstory Mike Jessop 1995 High Tide Brad Blair 1 episode Xena: Warrior Princess Hesiod 1 episode Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Zandar 1 episode 1995–1996 Fire John 'Repo' Kennedy 6 episodes1997 Police Rescue Errol Crichton 1 episode Heartbreak High Barry Peterson 7 episodes Wildside Ted Murdoch 1 episode The Devil Game John Devlin TV movie1999 Greenstone Lamont Duggan Fraser 2 episodes 2000 Blue Heelers John Gemes 1 episode Halifax f.p. Ex-detective Season 5, episode 1: "A Person of Interest" Neighbours Mick Scully 8 episodes 2001–2004 Stingers Frank Landis / Ed Cleaver 4 episodes 2004 Salem's Lot Charlie Rhodes Miniseries 2005 Home and Away Kevin Baker 2 episodes 2007 All Saints Lewid Dowd 2 episodes 2012 The Straits Vince 10 episodes 2013 Packed to the Rafters Jim Barton 4 episodes 2014 Janet King Anthony Schaeffer 1 episode 2016 Dirty Laundry Live Trevor Olyphant
Awards Year Work Award Category Result 1982 The Sullivans Logie Awards Silver Logie for Best Supporting Actor in a Series 2000 Halifax f.p.- A Person of Interest Australian Film Institute Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Telefeature or Miniseries 2012 Honk If You're Horny Sorta Unofficial New Zealand Film Awards (The Moas) Best Actor – Short Film 2013 Show Me Shorts Film Festival (NZ) Best Actor Best Actors Film Festival (US) Best Actor – Short
References
External links
Official website AudioCulture profile