✦ Golden Grolla Award 2016

Harry Anderson

The judge, the con man, the magician

American audiences knew Harry Anderson (1952-2018) as Judge Harry Stone in the hit sitcom "Night Court", which ran for nine seasons and made him a television star. Magicians knew him long before: as a street performer and club act he had perfected the character of the charming con man, a fast-talking hustler who fooled you, told you he was fooling you, and made you love him for it.

His appearances on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Tonight Show" brought that character to the whole of America, mixing comedy, scams and genuinely dangerous-looking stunts like his celebrated needle-through-arm. He wrote books on cons and swindles, opened a club in New Orleans, and never stopped performing magic even at the height of his acting fame: underneath the actor, the magician was always running the show.

Masters of Magic honoured him with the Golden Grolla in 2016, celebrating a performer who carried the swindler's wink into prime time without ever losing the magician's soul.

Honoured by Masters of Magic among the legends who have shaped the history of magic.