Friday the 13th, Star Trek & Felicity’s Erich Anderson Dies at the Age of 67

67-year-old Friday the 13th, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Felicity and NYPD Blue actor Erich Anderson has died of cancer. Anderson’s wife, actress Saxton Trainor, revealed her husband passed away via social media on June 1. While Anderson is undoubtedly best remembered by fans of the horror genre as the heroic character Rob Dier in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), the thespian compiled an impressive film and television resume over his 40-year career. Trainor wrote in her Instagram post:

O’Malley wrote:

“My brother-in-law Erich Anderson passed this morning after a brutal struggle with cancer.
He had a long successful career as an actor — he was on that old show 30 something;
he was Felicity’s father on ‘Felicity;’
he was killed in a basement in a Friday the 13th movie:
he was on Star Trek and dozens of other shows.
He was a smart and funny guy, a fantastic cook; he wrote three great novels which you can find on Amazon. I’ll miss him, but his ordeal is over.”

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

Release Date

April 13, 1984

Director

Joseph Zito

Runtime

90

Tagline

Three Times Before You Have Felt The Terror, Known The Madness, Lived The Horror. But This Is The One You’ve Been Screaming For.

Franchise

Friday The 13th

Expand

Erich Anderson’s Prolific & Immeasurable Legacy

Credited as E. Erich Anderson, the actor made his feature film debut in the fourth installment of the Friday the 13th film series back in 1984. A year earlier, Anderson made his first appearance on television in the short-lived drama, For Love and Honor. Over the years, Anderson became a prolific player, particularly on TV, as he showed up on a number of high-profile series, including Dallas, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Melrose Place, Matlock, Monk and Murder, She Wrote among so many more.

Anderson’s most prolific television work came courtesy of recurring appearances on Bay City Blues, Thirysomething, NYPD Blue and as Dr. Edward Porter — Felicity’s (Keri Russell) dad — on The WB and co-creator J.J. Abrams’ Felicity. Anderson also showed up multiple times on Close to Home, Major Crimes and Bosch. And Anderson most recently participated in the Audible original podcast series, The Big Lie.

Related

These Are the Best J.J. Abrams Shows and Movies, Ranked

Different J.J. Abrams movies and TV shows have defined many major cultural moments, with some serious highs and disappointing lows.

Following Anderson’s movie role in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, the actor took part in a number of other widely recognized film titles, including the Chuck Norris-led Missing in Action, The Witches of Eastwick (1992 TV flick), Unfaithful and The Neighbor.

When Anderson appeared at the 2023 Frightmare in the Falls Canadian horror convention, as a part of the panel with some of his Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter co-stars, Anderson began the conversation by paying tribute to the late Ted White, who portrayed Jason Voorhees in The Final Chapter. Anderson said, courtesy of Convention Junkies:

For those not aware of Anderson’s immeasurable and engaging participation on the convention circuit and his love for the Friday franchise and legacy, he was an extremely thoughtful, humorous and well-spoken ambassador for The Final Chapter’s enduring legacy, which Anderson played an important and not-to-be-forgotten part in.