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Sam Anderson

History & Commentary

Sam Anderson is an American actor and award-winning journalist who writes on history, sports, and urban life, and authored Boom Town (2018).

Biography

Sam Anderson (born April 2, 1947) is an American actor best known for a range of character roles on television and in film. Notable credits listed in sources include Sam Gorpley on Perfect Strangers; Principal Willis DeWitt on Growing Pains; Holland Manners on Angel; dentist Bernard Nadler on Lost; Doctor Harad in Friends; Edwin Kingston in Matlock; and the school principal in Forrest Gump.

He is also described in the provided sources as an award-winning journalist and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. His debut book, Boom Town (2018), is presented as a kaleidoscopic narrative of Oklahoma City that blends American history, sports reporting, urban studies, and gonzo memoir while examining episodes such as the 1889 Land Run, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2012-13 season and the James Harden trade, debates over urban planning, and a series of tornadoes.

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Books by Sam Anderson

Boom Town
Boom Town is Sam Anderson’s long-awaited debut, a kaleidoscopic narrative of Oklahoma City that mixes American history, sports reporting, urban studies, and gonzo memoir. The book focuses on the city’s origins, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2012-13 season and the James Harden trade, and wider civic battles over planning and recovery from tornadoes.