Erich Anderson, actor who played Felicity's dad, dies after 'brutal struggle with cancer'

The actor and author also starred in "Thirtysomething," "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter," and "Unfaithful."

Erich Anderson, the prolific television actor best known for playing Keri Russell's father on Felicity, has died after a battle with cancer.

Anderson was reported to be 67 at the time of his death, although only his birth year of 1957 was publicly listed.

The actor’s wife, Saxon Trainor, announced the news Saturday, on Instagram.

"My husband Erich died this morning," she wrote alongside a photo of the late star. Then, explaining she was "too bereft" to write more herself, Trainor quoted her brother-in-law Michael O’Malley, who wrote: "Erich Anderson passed this morning after a brutal struggle with cancer. He had a long successful career as an actor—he was on that old show 30 something; he was Felicity’s father on Felicity; he was killed in a basement in a Friday the 13th movie: he was on Star Trek and dozens of other shows. He was a smart and funny guy, a fantastic cook; he wrote three great novels which you can find on Amazon.”

O’Malley concluded, “I’ll miss him but his ordeal is over."

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Anderson began his career in the ‘80s, landing his breakout role as Rob Dier in 1984’s Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. He appeared in several more films — including Unfaithful, Welcome to 18, Patty Hearst, and Bat 21 — and established notoriety in recurring roles in several TV shows. He appeared as Bobby Stang in Bay City Blues, Billy Sidel in Thirtysomething, Don Kirkendall in NYPD Blue, Phil Gentry in Bosch, and Dr. Edward Porter, the main character’s father in Felicity.

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Following the news of his death, Anderson was fondly remembered by Felicity alum, Eva Gordon, who starred as his wife, Barbara Hunter, in the coming-of-age drama.

"My beautiful friend, Erich Anderson, has said goodbye,” Gordon wrote on Instagram, beside a photo of the duo on the show. “He was a magnificent part of the world. I loved him. I wish you’d known him, there was no one like him. So funny, so open to whatever the day brought him, so wickedly cynical and joyous at once.”

Referencing later seasons of the show, she noted that they crossed paths less after their characters got divorced: “I saw him less on set, but was always happy when we found each other in LA, we’d hang out and talk for hours. He was so smart,” she wrote, before adding, “Ah, look at this Erich, I’m using the past tense. My friend, I hope I see you again in dreams and other dimensions. Fly high, my friend.”

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Anderson’s additional TV credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, NCIS, 7th Heaven, ER and The X-Files.

Anderson additionally worked as an author, publishing his first novel, Hallowed Be Thy Name, in 2012, followed by Thy Kingdom Come in 2014 and Rabbit: A Golf Fable in 2022.

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