Howard A. Anderson Jr. obit

Howard A. Anderson Jr., ‘Star Trek’ Visual Effects Artist, Dies at 95

He received an Oscar nomination for his work on the 1967 war film 'Tobruk.'

 He was not on the list.

Howard A. Anderson Jr., an Oscar-nominated visual effects artist whose company did VFX work for the original Star Trek series, has died. He was 95.

Anderson died on Sept. 27 of cardiac dysrhythmia in Ventura, Calif., his son, Howard A. Anderson III, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Anderson and Albert Whitlock shared an Oscar nom for their efforts on Arthur Hiller’s Tobruk (1967), a war drama that starred Rock Hudson and George Peppard.

In the 1960s, Anderson and his brother, Darrell A. Anderson, were running The Howard Anderson Co., an influential special effects outfit based on the Desilu lot. The firm had worked on I Love Lucy — Anderson Jr. had teamed with Desi Arnaz to get the shape of the heart just right for the show’s opening — and NBC’s Star Trek was produced by Desilu.

The firm signed a deal to work on the 1964 Star Trek pilot episodes “The Cage” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” and its contributions to the series included exterior shots of the USS Enterprise speeding through the stars and the effects associated with the phaser-beam weapons and the ship’s transporter.

The company was launched by their father, Howard A. Anderson, who did special effects for such movies as White Zombie (1932) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1939). It went on to create the opening titles for scores of memorable shows, including The Addams Family, The Andy Griffith Show, Get Smart, The Mod Squad, The Twilight Zone, Mission: Impossible, The Brady Bunch and Cheers.

Howard A. Anderson III eventually took over the operation; it closed in November 2004. 

Anderson Jr. received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2007 and was given the President’s Award from the American Society of Cinematographers in 2004.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, Calif.

 

Visual Effects

Sixth and Main (1977)

Sixth and Main

6.2

visual effects

1977

 

The Bat People (1974)

The Bat People

2.8

photographic effects

1974

 

Earth II (1971)

Earth II

5.5

TV Movie

special photographic effects (as Howard Anderson Jr.)

1971

 

Lisa Gerritsen, Joan Hotchkis, and William Windom in My World and Welcome to It (1969)

My World and Welcome to It

8.5

TV Series

photographic effects (uncredited)

1969–1970

26 episodes

 

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)

Star Trek

8.4

TV Series

visual effects (uncredited)

1966–1969

80 episodes

 

The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)

The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz

4.4

photographic effects (as Howard Anderson)

1968

 

Danny Thomas in The Danny Thomas Hour (1967)

The Danny Thomas Hour

7.1

TV Series

photographic effects

1967

1 episode

 

George Peppard, Rock Hudson, Nigel Green, and Guy Stockwell in Tobruk (1967)

Tobruk

6.4

special effects supervisor/miniatures (uncredited)

1967

 

Tony Curtis, Yul Brynner, and Christine Kaufmann in Taras Bulba (1962)

Taras Bulba

6.3

special photographic effects

1962

 

Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, and Torin Thatcher in Jack the Giant Killer (1962)

Jack the Giant Killer

6.3

special photographic effects

1962

 

Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux in The Time Machine (1960)

The Time Machine

7.5

additional special effects/optical effects (uncredited)

1960

 

Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, and Connie Russell in Nightmare (1956)

Nightmare

6.4

special photographic effects

1956

 

Noreen Nash in Phantom from Space (1953)

Phantom from Space

4.1

photographic effects (as Howard Anderson)

1953

 

Special Effects

David Janssen in The Fugitive (1963)

The Fugitive

8.1

TV Series

special photographic effects

1964

1 episode

 

Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)

Invasion of the Saucer Men

5.3

special effects (as Howard Anderson)

1957

 

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956)

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon

4.0

special effects

1956

 

Slaughter Trail (1951)

Slaughter Trail

4.6

special effects (as Howard Anderson)

1951

 

Barry Nelson in The Man with My Face (1951)

The Man with My Face

6.0

special effects (as Howard Anderson)

1951

 

Laurette Luez in Prehistoric Women (1950)

Prehistoric Women

2.9

special effects photographer and creator

1950

 

Cinematographer

Paul Carr, Lee de Broux, T.J. Escott, Michael Pataki, and Jon Shank in The Dirt Gang (1972)

The Dirt Gang

2.9

Cinematographer (as Howard A. Anderson Jr.)

1972

 

Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers (1956)

Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers

5.3

Cinematographer

1956

 

Riders of the Pony Express (1949)

Riders of the Pony Express

6.0

Cinematographer (as Howard A. Anderson Jr.)

1949