Charters Harry Anderson Obituary (1942 - 2017)

Age 74 of Minneapolis, passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, preceded in death by parents Charters W. and Verna Eldora Tollefsrud\ Anderson. Survived by son James Stapleton, and truly beloved family, friends and students. A Univ. of Minnesota Theatre Scholarship winner and graduate, Showboat and Stagecoach Opera House company member (where he was loved for his villains), certified to instruct with a B.A, B.S. and M.A.s in Theatre Direction and Stage Movement. Coached by Dr. Arthur Ballet, Dr. Wendell Josal, Peggy Wood, Dr. Robert Moulton, Dr. Frank Whiting, Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Dr. Allen Rossi, Jack Eddleman, and Roy Schulessler (priv. voice). He taught acting, dance, and stage direction at high schools, colleges and universities. CHA, a bass baritone voice range, enjoyed solos (e.g. Old Man River) from demanding choir directors at church (Dale Warland, Univ. Lutheran, Dinkytown) and high school (A. Donald Strandemo, John Marshall, Dinkytown). His experience spanned radio, TV, movies, stage and nightclubs in Europe, S.America and USA. In Mpls, CHA had major acting roles (e.g. Holmes in John Fenn’s Sherlock Holmes - Theatre in the Round; Pooh Bah in The Mikado – Chimera Theater) and repeatedly earned high accolades for directing – Dames at Sea (Cricket Theatre), A Raisin in the Sun (Shoestring Theatre), The King and I, Oklahoma and The Crucible (Lakeshore Players), among others. Charters passion for helping people grow and strive to do their best led him to open his professional actor training business, ‘Charters Academy of Acting and Showcase Theatre’ (‘CAST’). For 30 years, he offered 18 yrs+ students intimate and intensive 1 to 4 year programs combining one-to-one private classes with major roles in a variety of dynamic *plays he directed and produced in his Mpls theatres: 411 First Ave N; 420 N 5th St Ford Center Bldg; 4030 Central Ave; *Plays: Lovers, Comings and Goings, A Life in the Theater, The Glass Menagerie, Buried Child, Two-Character Play, Exit the King, Mary Mary, Keep Tightly Closed, Waiting for Godot, The Caretaker, Frankie and Johnny, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Biloxi Blues, True West, Ghosts, Endgame, The Maids, Butterflies are Free, Zoo Story, The Lion in Winter, ‘Night Mother, No Exit, among others. CHA’s curriculum balanced the practical and emotional, designed specifically for each new student. He encouraged students to use their new self-confidence and personal awareness beyond the stage, to build honest and responsible relationships with their families and others. Students went on to success in many fields and TV and Broadway; a prominent student summed it up, “The inner growth and versatility I have achieved in working with Charters is priceless.” Charters often spoke of his happiness being owed to his mother, acknowledging her on every play bill at his theater productions. On his mother’s passing, he wrote: God Blessed me with my mother. She was loving, kind and lovely. She made me happy, full of faith in the goodness of others and fulfilled. God Bless you for those great gifts my dear mother!