John Robert Anderson[citation needed] (October 20, 1922 – August 7, 1992) was an American character actor who performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions during a career that spanned over four decades.
Standing 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm), he bore a strong resemblance to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln,[citation needed] whom he portrayed three times.
On television, he appeared in such series as The Rockford Files, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, Rawhide,Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Laramie, Have Gun – Will Travel , The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Virginian, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Californians, Johnny Ringo, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Trackdown, The Big Valley, Tales of Wells Fargo, Emergency!, The Incredible Hulk, MacGyver and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (episode "Cradle of the Deep").
He portrays an eccentric farmer who jealously guards his prize watermelon with a shotgun in "For the Love of Willadean: A Taste of Melon", a story originally broadcast on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in 1964.
In 1966 he starred as “Les McConnell”, the brains & front man for a murderous bank robbing gang in a rare two part episode of Gunsmoke called “The Raid” (S11E19) along with actors Michael Conrad, Jim Davis, Richard Jaeckel & Gary Lockwood.