Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter

Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter is a Jamaican-born actor and stage director who was born on September 17, 1946, in Kingston, Jamaica, and relocated to the United States in 1968. His career has spanned Broadway, television, and film, and he has also worked as a director, earning a Drama-Logue Award for his work in that capacity. He has additionally received nominations from the Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Awards for directing.

Anderson-Gunter made his Broadway debut on July 31, 1979, at the age of 33, in the musical But Never Jam Today, performed at the Longacre Theatre in New York City. The production was directed by Vinnette Carroll, choreographed by Talley Beatty, and produced by Arch Nadler and Anita MacShane. Based on the earlier musical Alice, which had premiered in May 1978, the show ran for 8 performances and 6 previews. Anderson-Gunter took on four roles in the production: the Mushroom, the White Rabbit, the Mock Turtle, and the Cheshire Cat, performing alongside cast members including Brenda Braxton and Sharon K. Brooks. His second Broadway credit, When Hell Freezes Over, I'll Skate, also falls within his 1979 to 1980 period of Broadway activity. On March 27, 1980, he appeared in the musical Reggae, produced by Michael Butler, Eric Nezhad, and David Cogan, with choreography by Mike Malone and direction by Glenda Dickerson. The production ran for 21 performances and 11 previews. Set over the course of a single day in Jamaica, the story followed a Jamaican pop singer who achieves success in the United States before returning home to reconnect with a former lover entangled in gang violence and drug abuse. Anderson-Gunter performed as part of the opening night ensemble, participating in a group musical number with 16 other cast members.

Beyond Broadway, Anderson-Gunter built a substantial screen career. He appeared in the 1994 comedy film Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, starring Leslie Nielsen, which won a Golden Screen Award that same year. He also starred in the television series Hudson Street from 1995 to 1996, playing the character Winston Silvira across 22 episodes. His television work has further included an appearance on Malcolm in the Middle.

Anderson-Gunter has also been active as a stage host and event participant. On February 13, 2005, he appeared as a special guest performer at an event held at Town Hall in New York City, which served as a salute to the influence of Woody King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre in the Black Arts Movement. Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson were among the other participants. On May 6, 2012, he co-hosted Broadway Bound alongside Obie Award winner Charlayne Woodard, an event featuring veteran Broadway actors, singers, and dancers. On June 29, 2013, he co-hosted Fourth of July festivities at the California African American Museum alongside Nita Whitaker Lafontaine.

Anderson-Gunter has also maintained a long involvement with charitable work connected to Jamaica. He participated in the Caribbean Classic Golf Invitational in 2006, a charity event that included television personality Steve Harvey, Anthony Anderson, Marcus Allen, Richard Roundtree, Boris Kodjoe, and Sandra Denton of Salt-N-Pepa, among others. The event raised $200,000, with $80,000 contributed by the Steve Harvey Charity Foundation, and proceeds were directed toward establishing technology centers in Jamaica and promoting the island as a global tourist destination. Anderson-Gunter has been involved with the Caribbean Classic Golf Invitational, held annually each summer in Montego Bay, Jamaica, since its inception in 2005. In 2009, he was part of the Jamaican celebrity golf team that raised the most money among 12 competing Caribbean countries in a fundraising effort for Dell Computers, with total funds reaching nearly $400,000. That year's event also featured Cedric the Entertainer and included a comedy program and a boxing tournament called Champions of Champions II, which showcased local talent from across the Caribbean.