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Carl Anderson (February 27, 1945 – February 23, 2004) was an American singer, film and theatre actor best known for his Golden Globe Award nominated portrayal of Judas Iscariot in the Broadway and film versions of the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar.

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Anderson was one of 12 children of James and Alberta Anderson. During his junior year of high school, Carl enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a communications technician for two years. He returned to Lynchburg to complete high school and graduate in 1965. With his honorable discharge, following high school, Carl sang at military bases across America as part of the World Wide Air Force Talent Contest.

Anderson moved to Washington D.C. in 1969. Carl and some friends formed a group called "The Second Eagle", with Carl handling the vocals. Among the many jazz/rock tunes Second Eagle covered were some from the album Jesus Christ Superstar, which had been released long before there were ever any definitive plans for a stage production.

In 1971, a talent agent for the William Morris Agency saw Carl perform some songs from the show at St. Stephen's Church and recognized Carl's potential as a solo performer.

Although Carl didn't know it at the time, one of his most significant opportunities came when he took over the role of Judas in the stage version of Jesus Christ Superstar from Ben Vereen in 1971 and performed it on Broadway and in Los Angeles when Vereen fell ill. After Vereen recovered, both actors took turns playing the role. While performing in Los Angeles, Carl was flown to London for a screen test. Two weeks later, he left that production to begin filming in Israel. The film, released in 1973 by director Norman Jewison, catapulted Anderson's career with two Golden Globe nominations as most promising newcomer and best musical actor.

Other movie appearances by Anderson include: The Black Pearl (1978) and Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple (1985). Television appearances include: Cop Rock, Days of Our Lives and Hill Street Blues.

As a recording artist, Anderson was equally prolific. Carl signed with Motown Records in 1972. Several of the most recognizable albums to be released in the musically-explosive 70s would bear the mark of Carl Anderson, including his work with Stevie Wonder on his landmark 1976 double album "Songs in the Key of Life."

Carl also made numerous appearances at several notable clubs in Los Angeles during the 1970's and, with Columbia Records' talent scout Larkin Arnold, signed a record deal for which Carl would release four albums on the Epic label beginning in 1983. In total, Anderson released nine jazz and Soul albums as a solo artist, including hits "How Deep Does It Go," "Pieces Of A Heart," "Hot Coffee," and the mega-hit from his self-titled 1986 album, "Friends and Lovers," (a duet with Gloria Loring) which reached the number-two spot on the charts that year and endeared Carl to soap opera fans. Carl also appeared on albums with other leading artists, including Maynard Ferguson, Herbie Hancock, Edgar Winter, Kenny Loggins, Brenda Russell, Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons, and Nancy Wilson.

In 1992, Carl reprised his role as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar for a "20th Anniversary of the Movie" tour. Initially planned for three months, the production lasted another six years and grossed over $100 million, visiting over 50 North American cities, including the Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, the Fox Theaters in Detroit, St. Louis and Atlanta, the Morris Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, The Orpheum in San Francisco, the Wang Center in Boston as well as dates in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Miami, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

In 1997, Anderson performed on Broadway, in an adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" called "Play On!" featuring the music of Duke Ellington, playing The Duke. Beginning in 1998, and in later years of his life, Carl reprised his role as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar to sold-out auditoriums around the world.

One of his later albums, "Why we are Here" was recorded at the Agape International Spiritual Center, then located in Santa Monica California.

Carl Anderson died February 23, 2004 of leukemia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Veronica; a son from a previous marriage, Khalil McGhee-Anderson; stepdaughters Hana and Laila Ali; and several sisters.

The track 'Nightingale' on Leonard Cohen's 2004 album Dear Heather was dedicated to Anderson.

"I built my house beside the wood
So I could hear you singing
And it was sweet and it was good
And love was all beginning
'Fare thee well my nightingale
'Twas long ago I found you
Now all your songs of beauty fail
The forest closes 'round you
The sun goes down behind a veil
'Tis now that you would call me
So rest in peace my nightingale
Beneath your branch of holly
Fare thee well my nightingale
I lived but to be near you
Tho' you are singing somewhere still
I can no longer hear you"

Items in bold indicate Carl's solo recordings.

• Jesus Christ Superstar - Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack - 1973
• Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life - 1976
• Menage a Trois - Manage a Trois - 1980
• Absence Without Love - 1982 - Epic
• On and On - 1983 - Epic
• Weather Report - Domino Theory - 1983
• Weather Report - Sportin' Life - 1984
• Kenny Loggins - Vox Humana - 1985
• Protocol - 1985 - Epic
• Carl Anderson - 1986 - Epic
• Joe Zawinul - Dialects - 1986
• Nancy Wilson - Forbidden Lover - 1987
• Rippingtons - Best of the Rippingtons - 1987
• Maynard Ferguson - High Voltage - 1988
• Kazu Matsui - Time No Longer - 1988
• Act of Love - 1988 - Polydor
• Dan Siegel - Late One Night - 1989
• Keiko Matsui - Drop of Water - 1989
• Rippingtons - Tourist in Paradise - 1989
• The Zawinul Syndicate - Black Water - 1989
• GRP Artists - GRP: On the Cutting Edge - 1989
• Nancy Wilson - Lady with a Song - 1990
• Rippingtons - Welcome to the St. James' Club - 1990
• Peabo Bryson - Can You Stop the Rain - 1991
• Pieces of a Heart - 1991 - GRP
• Garfield (GRP Artists) - Am I Cool or What! - 1991
• Richard Elliot - On the Town - 1991
• Don Grusin - Zephyr - 1991
• George Howard - Do I Ever Cross Your Mind? - 1992
• Fantasy Hotel - 1992 - GRP
• GRP Artists - GRP 10th Anniversary Collection - 1992
• Rippingtons - Live in L.A. - 1992
• Eric Marienthal - One Touch - 1993
• Heavy Weather/Sunlight Again - 1994 - GRP
• Jazz Live - Jazz Live - 1994
• Kevin Toney - Pastel Mood - 1995
• Michael Paulo - My Heart and Soul - 1996
• Tim Rice - Collection: Stage & Screen Classics - 1996
• Why We Are Here! - 1997 - Abu Khalil
• Play On! - Original Cast Recording - 1997
• Tis the Season - Tis the Season - 1997
• Nils - Blue Planet - 1998
• George DeLaRue - The London Sessions - 1998
• Civil War- The Concept Album - 1998
• Jesus Christ Superstar - 25th Anniversary Re-Issue - 1998
• Michael Paulo - Midnight Passion - 1999
• Gerald McCauley - McCauley Sessions - 1999
• L.A. Jazz Syndicate - L.A. Jazz Syndicate, Vol. 2 - 1999
• Oceans - Ridin' the Tide - 1999
• Hymn of Asia - Golden Era - 1999

• The Official Website of Performing Artist Carl Anderson
• Carl Anderson Biography at SoulTracks
• Carl Anderson at the Internet Movie Database
• Carl Anderson at the Internet Broadway Database
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