He worked as a real estate developer and served in the United States Army as an infantry sergeant during World War II.

When Los Angeles officials urgently requested state support to quell the riots, Anderson waited five hours before granting approval.

The subsequent controversy dogged Anderson for the remainder of his career and was a major factor in his 1966 defeat at the hands of Republican Robert Finch.

As a former real estate developer, he successfully sought a seat on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, of which he would become chair in 1988.

His House colleagues claimed that Anderson's abilities slipped dramatically in the late 1980s because of his advancing age.