Carl Anderson, Known as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar on Stage and Screen, Dies at 58

Actor-singer Carl Anderson died on February 23 after a battle with leukemia. He was 58.

Anderson was born in 1945 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He was best known for playing Judas in Norman Jewison’s film version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice opus Jesus Christ Superstar, for which performance he was nominated for two Golden Globe awards. He also played Judas as a replacement in the original Broadway production (his Broadway debut) and returned to the role in a 1992 tour of the show. His final Broadway appearance was in the Duke Ellington musical Play On! (1997) and he can be heard on the two-disc concept recording of Frank Wildhorn’s The Civil War.

Aside from Jesus Christ Superstar, his film credits include The Black Pearl, The Color Purple, and Mello’s Kaleidocope. Anderson also did a stint on the daytime television drama Another World and he had a role in the 1979 TV movie Mind Over Murder.