A tall, handsome, light-haired player, mostly in TV roles, Mitchell Anderson is perhaps best recalled for his two season stint as a colleague of teen wonder "Doogie Howser, M.D." on that ABC sitcom. His recurring role as Ross, the bespectacled, gay violin teacher of young Claudia (Lacey Chabert), on the cult favorite "Party of Five" has also brought him notice, particularly once the actor publicly disclosed his homosexuality at a dinner in L.A. in March of 1996. ("I'm here to tell you I'm a gay actor playing a gay character.")Born and raised in Jamestown, NY, Anderson studied at Williams College and received voice training at Juilliard before embarking on a stage career. He made his theatrical debut in a 1984 production of "On Shilo Hill" at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. Settling in L.A. in the mid-1980s, he began making guest appearances on TV shows including "Hill Street Blues" and "Cagney and Lacey". He landed a supporting role in the NBC TV-movie "Intimate Encounters" (1986) and also appeared in the two-part Disney telefilm "Student Exchange" (ABC, 1987). In 1989, Anderson landed the leading role of Richard Carpenter in the CBS biopic "The Karen Carpenter Story". He also had a strong lead as the grown-up Huck in "Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn" (The Disney Channel, 1990).
Anderson's presence on the big screen has been fairly limited. After making his debut as one of several youths chosen to fly on a space shuttle mission in "SpaceCamp" (1986), he had his first lead in the low-budget "Deadly Dreams" (1988). Other credits include the thriller "All-American Murder" (1992) and the lesbian-themed "The Midwife's Tale" (1996).
Profession(s):
Actor, director
Sometimes Credited As:
Education
Williams College Williamstown, Massachusetts BA theater
The Juilliard School New York, New York voice
Drama-Logue Award "Streamers" 1988
1998 Co-starred with Hal Linden in the Off-Broadway play "Visiting Mr. Green"
1998 Featured in "Relax, It's Just Sex"
1996 Publicly disclosed his homosexuality on March 10 at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation dinner in L.A.
1994 Played recurring role of Ross, a gay violin teacher who adopts a child, on the Fox drama "Party of Five"
1989 Starred as Richard Carpenter in CBS TV biopic "The Karen Carpenter Story"
1989 - 1991 Played Dr. Jack McGuire, a colleague to the precocious "Doogie Howser, M.D." (ABC)
1986 Feature film debut in "SpaceCamp"
1986 Made first TV-movie, "Intimate Encounters" (NBC)
1984 Made stage debut in "On Shilo Hill" in Washington, DC
Moved to L.A.
Returned to stage work
Acted in the L.A. production of "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde"