Arthur Anderson, the performer and voice actor who for nearly three decades gave the Lucky Charms mascot his memorable Irish brogue, died on Saturday at the age of 93. A friend of Anderson’s confirmed his death to the New York Times.
Anderson had a multifarious career that spanned the better part of the twentieth century. In 1937, he appeared alongside Orson Welles in Welles’ production of Julius Caesar. In that Shakespearean drama, which was reset in Mussolini’s Italy, Anderson was Lucius and Welles was Brutus; it was the basis for the 2009 film “Me and Orson Welles,” with Zac Efron playing a character based on Anderson).
Two and a half decades later, an advertising agency was drafting a campaign for a new breakfast cereal that included sugary marshmallows — unheard of at the time. The cereal was Lucky Charms, and its eponymous mascot was an animated leprechaun. Anderson was from New York, but he summoned an Irish accent for the part, and held it until his retirement from the role in 1992.
Lucky Charms remains one of the bestselling breakfast cereals in the U.S. But Anderson was not bound to his role as its spokesman: as the Times reports, he appeared onscreen in films and shows ranging from Woody Allen’s Zelig to Law and Order.
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