Andy Anderson (actor)

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.

Anderson was born in Naenae, Lower Hutt. He attended Naenae College, where he started playing in pop and rock and roll bands.^[1] At the age of 16, he relocated to Sydney to sing and drum in soul clubs for returned soldiers from Vietnam.^[2] In his early years, he also worked for Parks and Reserves.^[3]

Anderson performed in several well-known Australian rock bands of the 1960s,^[2] 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.^[2]

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.^[4] 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.^[4]

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.^[5] The same year, he participated in a reunion of Southern Comfort in Sydney.

In 2017, Anderson released his next album, Andersongs.^[5] In 2019, at the age 71, he was writing and making music, based in Palmerston North, New Zealand.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[3] 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.^[2]

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,^[2] Packed to the Rafters, Sea Patrol, McLeod's Daughters and The Man from Snowy River.^[3]

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).^[2] He also had cameos in Swerve and Honk if You're Horny.^[3]

Anderson moved to Palmerston North in New Zealand with his wife Karen, prior to rebooting his music career.^[3] He has a daughter, Christal.^[3]

In 1966, during his early music career, Anderson was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, and spent two weeks in hospital.^[3][4] 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.^[3]

• Andy Anderson at IMDb
• Official website
• AudioCulture profile