John Anderson is an American filmmaker born on January 12, 1954, in Columbus, Ohio. He is the son of J. Milo Anderson, a hospital administrator, and Helen (nee Casterton) Anderson, a registered nurse. Due to his father's career, John moved frequently throughout his childhood, residing in Ohio, New York, California, and Pennsylvania.
Anderson attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio/TV/Film in 1976. During his time at Northwestern, he produced and hosted a weekly radio program on WNUR, featuring live recordings from Chicago-area folk, blues, and rock clubs. One notable recording was of Steve Goodman, which was released commercially by Red Pajamas Records in 2013.
After graduating, Anderson worked as an editor at Chicago post-production facilities Telemation and Post Effects. In 1985, while at Post Effects, he edited The Super Bowl Shuffle, the second-highest selling music video at the time, behind Michael Jackson's Michael Jackson: Thriller.
Anderson's satirical rock band, The Cleaning Ladys, gained national attention with its music videos "Creatures From Outer Space" and "She Won't French Kiss," the latter winning an International Monitor Award over a field including Dire Straits, Don Henley, and Yes.
Anderson went on to work as a documentary editor at Bill Kurtis's Kurtis Productions and IPA. In 1995, he co-founded the Chicago post-production company Superior Street Inc. with three partners. It was during his time at Superior Street that he began his professional relationship with Beach Boy Co-Founder Brian Wilson in 1998.
In 2007, Anderson opened the production/post-production company Anderson Productions, through which he directs, edits, and produces music documentaries. His latest film is Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story (2017),a music documentary about the late blues artist Paul Butterfield.
