Bob Anderson has died at 75

Bob Anderson, who portrayed young George Bailey in the Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life," succumbed to cancer today at his Palm Springs home. The actor was 75 years old.

Although his career spanned nearly four decades, Anderson was best known for his role as the young Bailey in Frank Capra's 1946 "It's a Wonderful Life," the same character portrayed in adulthood by James Stewart. In one scene, the story called for him to spot a potentially fatal error made by a drunken druggist, played by H.B. Warner. In the one below, he discusses his dream to explore the whole wide world with a young "Mary" at the soda fountain:



Anderson is survived by his wife, Victoria; three sons, John of Lake Arrowhead, Bob Jr. of Long Beach and Joe of San Bernardino; three daughters, Kathleen Inman of Nyack, N.Y., Deborah Gutierrez of Boise, Idaho, and Heidi Anderson-Robinson of Ventura; 11 grandchildren; a brother, Beau Anderson; and a sister, Virginia McAfee.

Services are pending. Instead of flowers, donations in Anderson's memory may be made to the American Cancer Society.