Garland Anderson (playwright)

After having a full-length drama on Broadway, Anderson gave talks on empowerment and success largely related to the New Thought movement.

According to Alan Kriezenbeck in 1994, most available primary information about Anderson is in the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

[1] The Helen Armstead-Johnson collection at the library also has a number of clippings; Anderson was the first person of color who was a member of PEN International.

[6] Their last known residence in Kansas may have been Topeka in 1895,[7] and a March 1928 California State Library biography lists his parents as Louis Anderson and Naomi Bowman.

[3] Newspaper articles also indicate the early-to-mid-1890s for Anderson's arrival in California;[8] they referred to his father's birth in slavery,[9] and Wichita was incorporated as a city on July 21, 1870[10] (after the American Civil War).

[12] After Wichita was incorporated, it experienced an economic boom[13][14] with the founding of two colleges[15][16] and the passage of the Kansas Civil Rights Act of 1874.

[6] From the 1860s to the 1880s San Francisco began its transformation into a major city, expanding in all directions and culminating in the 1887 construction of Golden Gate Park.

[4] In the 1920 census Anderson, divorced, worked on Sutter Street as an operator; his father was born in Virginia and his mother in Ohio.

[6] In early 1924, before he heard about Channing Pollack's The Fool,[22] he became aware of psychology and read a book on New Thought, which impressed him.

[6] Anderson, living at the Braeburn Apartments on Sutter Street[27][28][29] and noted as vice-president of San Francisco's NAACP chapter, appeared in New York with his attorney in November.

By Christmas, Anderson reported a leave of absence from the Braeburn Apartments Hotel[26] (where he was a switchboard operator) and support from Al Jolson, Marjorie Rambeau, Channing Pollock and Richard Bennett.

[1] Newspapers continued to cover the play's development,[33] and a free reading at the Manhattan Opera House[5] was scheduled for April 26.

[34] When funding still lagged, Anderson went to see President Calvin Coolidge[6] and New York Governor Al Smith;[1] in June, another writer was brought in and the play was renamed Appearances.

[26] Anderson returned to his job in San Francisco, selling half the West Coast production rights for another $15,000 after two public readings (the second broadcast on KFCR).

[44] Anderson appeared on WHN near the end of October,[45] and spoke at a Harlem school community meeting in early November.

[54] In June 1926, Anderson was still in Los Angeles trying to market Appearances' film rights to fund another production[55] and spoke at an NAACP fundraiser.

[56] In April 1927 a new production, produced by Thomas Wilkes and directed by Virginia Brissac, opened at the Majestic Theatre.

[67] In January 1929 Anderson was in Chicago,[68] received positively[69] but in financial difficulty which was resolved in February with nine weeks of performances.

[70] In mid-March Anderson gave a talk in New York,[71] and Appearances returned to the city in April to negative reviews.

[1][72] A claim by another writer that he had written part of Appearances underwent arbitration by the Authors League of America, and Anderson received sole credit for the play.

[1] In the summer Anderson brought producer Dorothy Tallman and leading man Dario Shindell to a gathering of Bahá'ís in New Jersey.

[86][87] In 1935 Anderson gave a talk to the Practical Psychology Club, "Finding our place in life",[88] which began a speaking tour.

He published a religious book, Uncommon Sense; The Law of Life in Action,[89][6] and reportedly gave talks in Germany, France and Austria.

[91] He addressed audiences in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, sponsored by Dick Sheppard, William T. Manning, S. Parkes Cadman and Stephen S. Wise,[92] and offered a series of lessons on faith and success.

In San Mateo, California, the "playwright, lecturer and philosopher" gave talks entitled "Finding your place in life" and "How to realize your heart's desire" to a Unity church and promoted Uncommon Sense.

[97][98] In November and December, Anderson was in Los Angeles with support from followers in the UK and New York; although he recognized Jesus as the founder of the most practical teaching of all time, he was independent of any religious group.

[100][101][102][103][104] Anderson was reported as coming to Honolulu,[105][106] and he was profiled in the Honolulu Advertiser in late January as a "playwright, lecturer, philosopher, traveler and religious teacher" not dependent on religion, mysticism, or science (or any "ism") for his ideas who spoke at the Young Hotel on "How and why prayers are answered", "Finding your place in life", "Using Uncommon Sense" and "How to be prosperous".

[122] The book was reportedly not as lurid as either title, noting that they could generally stay in the same hotel on the West Coast and in Canada but were forbidden to share a room.

In 1939 Anderson had a heart attack in London,[1] but he insisted on returning to the US in late May to stage another play based on his book Uncommon Sense.