Robert H. Anderson, War Hero, TV Pioneer and Judge, Dies at 91

Robert H. Anderson, a World War II hero who went on to become host, producer, writer and editor in the early days of television — and, later, a renowned judge — died October 29, 2009. He was 91.

Anderson, was born in Connecticut but grew up in San Diego, California. He began his television career as public relations manager for the Department of Agriculture. Recognizing the emerging medium of television as a way to distribute news relating to agriculture, he hosted and produced the local program Farm and Home News, which began as a way to inform farmers and ranchers of the latest policies and developments relating to agriculture.

Legislators, ranchers, farmers and equipment manufacturers would come on the show as guests to discuss the latest practices and technology. Anderson’s goal was for viewers to hear the latest news directly from the source whenever possible.

As the show grew in popularity, producers added a weather report and a sports report. It later expanded to include cooking demonstrations, live coverage of events and visits with notables from fields ranging from sports to politics.

Eventually the original show spun off into a half-hour sports show called Sportfolio with Bob Anderson. Anderson was also involved in creating a children’s show called K.C. and C.C. At one point, he hosted and produced two live shows every day.

The live, multi-segment format — mixing news, weather, sports and interviews — that Anderson helped to shape was rare in the late 1940s but is commonplace today.

“I saw the enormous potential of television, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of it,” he said. “I had no idea how to produce a television show when I started, I just figured it out as I went along. To this day, no other medium has the power to inform and entertain like television.”

Anderson graduated from the University of California, Davis, where he was a star quarterback. Three professional football teams recruited him, but he joined the Marine Corps and served as a fighter pilot in the Pacific during World War II.

Well before he embarked on his television career, Anderson had already lived a full life. As a student at University of California, Davis, he was a star quarterback on the football team, and had offers to play professionally with the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Brooklyn Dodgers Football Club. But when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the same week that his offer letters arrived, he joined the war effort instead.

Having already earned a pilot’s license at the time, Anderson enlisted as an aviator and became a fighter pilot in the Pacific during World War II. He flew Corsairs and took part in the famed battles at Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Okinawa and Iwo Jima, among others.

At Iwo Jima, he remembered flying so low that he could clearly see the combat taking place on the ground. He also witnessed the famous raising of the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi.

Clint Eastwood computer-generated Anderson’s squadron in the movie Flags of Our Fathers and Anderson autographed DVDs of the movie to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anderson’s squadrons have also been computer-generated by the History Channel series Dogfights and other productions.

Anderson was also connected to the 1970s NBC television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, loosely based on the experiences of WWII fighter pilot Gregory “Pappy” Boyington. Anderson was stationed with Boyington and flew missions with him during the war.

Between battles in the Pacific, Anderson flew reconnaissance missions, collecting information about Japanese positions on the various islands.

Anderson also escorted bombers. During one escort mission, he was hit with anti-aircraft fire and told to bail out of his plane. He jettisoned the canopy and was preparing to abandon his aircraft when he noticed that there were still Japanese planes in the air that would likely shoot him as he bailed out. In addition, he was concerned that the Japanese would retrieve his plane’s wreckage in an effort to learn the secrets of what was at the time the fastest, most powerful plane in production.

So, instead of bailing out, Anderson decided to take his chances and try to fly back to his base. He managed to fly his plane, with no canopy, limited controls and no landing gear 300 miles back to his base at Okinawa. When he arrived, he made a belly landing on the runway and walked away unscathed. The plane was junk, but Anderson had managed to prevent it from falling into enemy hands, and he went on to fly many more missions.

Anderson’s most dangerous task during the war came toward its end, when he fought off kamikaze planes that were trying to crash into American ships. This was particularly dangerous because he had to dive down and chase the Japanese planes while dodging not only enemy gunfire, but fire from American gunners who were shooting at the kamikaze planes at the same time.

For his heroism, Anderson earned many honors, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and the Purple Heart.

When the war broke out, Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams, a friend of Anderson’s, asked him to write a letter of recommendation to assist Williams in his desire to join Anderson as a Marine Corps aviator. Anderson wrote the letter, and Williams was able to fly. Although the two men did not fly together, they trained together in the U.S. and even played baseball together in a service league. After training, Anderson was deployed in the Pacific and Williams was sent to Florida to be a flight instructor.

Following his service, Anderson remained in the Marine Corps Reserves, serving as a test pilot and instructor. He taught dogfighting tactics one weekend a month, and two weeks twice a year. At times, his instruction schedule conflicted with his burgeoning television responsibilities, which resulted in Anderson making a request that the Reserve give him more notice of his assignments so as not to conflict with his daily television shows. The Reserves agreed, and worked around his schedule. He served in the Reserve until 1968 and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

After the war, Anderson owned a feed store in Visalia and became a farm adviser for the state of California. In the early 1950s, he moved with his family to Davis, where his television career began.

Later, Anderson attended the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and worked as an attorney before becoming an administrative law judge for the state Board of Equalization. He was known as the “cowboy judge” for the boots and hat he wore with his suits.

He heard sales tax cases in Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. His most celebrated case involved television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who, according to Anderson’s ruling, had to pay sales tax on merchandise sold in California. Anderson ruled that Swaggart was engaged in retail sales in the sense that if someone bought a book from any other bookstore, they would have to pay sales tax, so it should not be any different for Swaggart’s bookstore. Swaggart challenged Anderson’s ruling all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court (Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. California Board of Equalization). In 1990, the Court upheld Anderson’s decision and quoted him in the Majority Opinion.

In the 1960s, Anderson was the announcer for all UC Davis home football games and many Davis High School football games. He was also an avid golfer who played rounds with Jack Nicklaus and former President Gerald Ford, and was a charter member of the El Macero Country Club near Davis.

In his retirement, he played the piano, drew sketches, consulted on various television projects and appeared in a commercial for Mira Costa College.

In 2007, Anderson was honored by the San Diego County Fair. The theme was “Salute to Heroes,” and the fair included an exhibit about Anderson and his many achievements. Banners featuring a giant picture of him hung from light posts and palm trees throughout the city.

In 2008, Anderson’s 90th birthday party was held at MCAS Miramar’s Flying Leatherneck Museum. The party featured a WWII Corsair plane and a Japanese fighter pilot who fought against Anderson in WWII.

Later that year Congressman Darrell Issa gave Anderson a vial of sand from the beach at Iwo Jima.

He was married to Ruth Anderson, a UC Berkeley graduate who became the dean of women at UC Davis. She died in 2006. The couple had three daughters.

Anderson was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with Full Military Honors. The ceremony featured a military honor guard, and his flag-draped coffin was transported on a horse-drawn caisson. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came to the family gathering after the service to pay his respects and convey his condolences to the family.

In honor of Anderson’s service to California as a fighter pilot, television pioneer and judge, the California State Legislature passed a Memorial Resolution commemorating his accomplishments in the three fields.

Anderson married the former Ruth Edlefsen in 1942 and the couple had three daughters. She died in 2006.

He is survived by three daughters, a brother, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.