 He was the son of Herbert Julius Anderson (1889-1940) and Gertrude M. (Nelson) Anderson (1894-1929).His father, the son of Norwegian immigrants, served as Oakland City Treasurer during the 1920s.After a few minor roles in films for Warner Bros., Anderson got his big break in the 1941 picture "Navy Blues", starring Martha Raye and Ann Sheridan, followed by "The Body Disappears" and "The Male Animal" in which he co-starred with Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland.