Howard Anderson, Jr.

Visual Effects Specialist

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his three-hour Archive interview, Howard Anderson, Jr. (1920-2015) talks about joining his father's company, The Howard Anderson Company, where he and his brother Darrell continued the business of doing titles and special effects for movies. He discusses working on early television series including I Love Lucy and Dragnet. He elaborates on his special effects for Star Trek, where he devised a way to show the Enterprise speed through a field of stars and created the effect for the ship's "transporter." He discusses other shows he worked on until his retirement in 1990. He also talks about the then-current state of the industry and how optical effects compare with the newer digital effects. B-roll consists of photos of some of the optical equipment at the Howard Anderson Company and a photo of the Starship Enterprise. Karen Herman conducted the interview on July 21, 2005 in Oxnard, CA.

"We had probably 18 weekly TV shows that we did the titles and optical work on, in addition to several features. It gets to be sort of a factory kind of an operation once the pilot is done and the approvals have been made on all the styles. But then you turn her over and let her run."

People Talking About ...

Howard Anderson, Jr.

Highlights

Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening titles for The Andy Griffith Show

Howard Anderson Jr. on doing titles for I Love Lucy

Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening titles for The Dick Van Dyke Show

Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening sequence for Star Trek

Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening titles for My Favorite Martian

Full Interview

Chapter 1

On his early life and influences; on the first time he saw television

On shooting inserts and titles for his father's movie company; on lettering in titles; on doing titles for I Love Lucy

Chapter 2

On working with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on I Love Lucy; on editing with three cameras on I Love Lucy; on working on The Lucy Show

On creating the opening titles for The Addams Family, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Beverly Hillbillies; on creating the opening titles for Daniel Boone, Dragnet, and The Dick Van Dyke Show; on creating the opening titles for The Fugitive, Get Smart, and I Spy

Chapter 3

On creating the opening titles for The Invaders, Mission: Impossible, and Mod Squad; on creating the opening titles for My Favorite Martian, My Three Sons, and My World and Welcome to It

On creating the opening titles for That Girl, The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits; on creating the opening titles for The Untouchables and Star Trek

Chapter 4

On creating special effects and titles for Star Trek; on the opening sequence of Star Trek; on working with Gene Roddenberry on the show

On creating special effects for Star Trek; on creating the effects for the different planets on Star Trek

On working with the cast and crew of Star Trek; on the legacy of his work on Star Trek; on creating effects for the feature film "Jack the Giant Killer"

Chapter 5

On creating effects for the feature films "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Tobruk"; on creating opening titles for The Brady Bunch, Charlie's Angels and Happy Days

On creating opening titles for Kung Fu, Little House on the Prairi e and Bonanza; on creating the opening titles for Love Boat, Love American Style and Wonder Woman; on creating the opening titles for Cheers and Dynasty; on his retirement in 1990

Chapter 6

On advice to aspiring visual effects professionals; on his ability to work on many projects simultaneously; on how the business and audience expectations have changed since he started in the industry

On the difference between working in film and in television; on working with editors, cinematographers and directors; on career highlights and regrets and how he'd like to be remembered

On B-roll of pictures from Howard Anderson Jr's career: childhood picture, circa 1926; filming a miniature for a feature at Malibu Beach; in the Navy circa 1945; with an early optical printer circa 1946; with Paul Newman at Zuma Beach; photograph of Star Trek's Enterprise; a "line-up" person inspecting 35 millimeter film; projection room; optical printer with operator; line-up room at optical department; Anderson's son with an optical printer; Howard Anderson Jr. with a camera

Shows

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Howard Anderson, Jr.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Addams Family, The

Andy Griffith Show, The

Beverly Hillbillies, The

Bonanza

Brady Bunch, The

Charlie's Angels

Cheers

Daniel Boone

Dick Van Dyke Show, The

Dragnet

Dynasty

Fugitive, The

George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The

Get Smart

Happy Days

I Love Lucy

I Spy

Invaders, The

Kung Fu

Little House on the Prairie

Love Boat, The

Love, American Style

Lucy Show, The

Mission: Impossible

Mod Squad, The

My Favorite Martian

My Three Sons

My World ... and Welcome to it

Outer Limits, The (1963-65)

Star Trek

That Girl

Twilight Zone, The

Untouchables, The

Wonder Woman

Advice

Historic Events and Social Change

Pop Culture

Technological Innovation

Television Industry

War

World War II

Post-Production Professionals

Special Effects Creator

Title Designer

Adventure/Espionage Series

Comedy Series

Cop/Detective/Mystery Series

Daytime/Primetime Serials

Sci-Fi/Supernatural Series

Western Series

Desi Arnaz

Lucille Ball

Dann Cahn

Sheldon Leonard

Jess Oppenheimer

Gene Roddenberry

Jack Webb

Billy Wilder

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