---
name: "Robert Anderson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/robert-anderson-46610"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "28 April 1917"
died: "9 February 2009"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T04:35:59.886922+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Robert Anderson

Writer. Born 28 April 1917 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Died 9 February 2009.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 28 April 1917, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 9 February 2009
- **Active:** 1959–1966
- **Also known as:** Robert Woodruff Anderson
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 84 (1), 1960s 66 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anderson_(playwright), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q154717, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027355/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/46610

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*The Nun's Story*](https://film.one/film/the-nuns-story.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Robert Anderson (1917–2009) was an American playwright, screenwriter and theatrical producer. Born Robert Woodruff Anderson in Manhattan, he studied at Harvard University, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

He is best known for the Broadway play *Tea and Sympathy* (1953), later adapted into a 1956 film, and for the play *I Never Sang for My Father* (1968), which he adapted for the screen in 1970. His other notable screenplays include *Until They Sail* (1957), *The Nun's Story* (1959) and *The Sand Pebbles* (1966). He received Academy Award nominations for best adapted screenplay for both *The Nun's Story* and *I Never Sang for My Father*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Sand Pebbles* (1966), Fi1m 66, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-sand-pebbles.md)
- *The Nun's Story* (1959), Fi1m 84, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-nuns-story.md)

## Complete filmography (12)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Absolute Strangers* (1991), Writer
- *The General Motors Playwrights Theater* (1991), series, Writer
- *I Never Sang for My Father* (1988), Theatre Play
- *American Playhouse* (1982), series, Writer
- *The Patricia Neal Story* (1981), Teleplay
- *Double Solitaire* (1974), Writer, Theatre Play
- *I Never Sang for My Father* (1970), Screenplay, Theatre Play
- *The Sand Pebbles* (1966), Screenplay — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/the-sand-pebbles.md)
- *The Nun's Story* (1959), Screenplay — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-nuns-story.md)
- *Until They Sail* (1957), Screenplay
- *Tea and Sympathy* (1956), Screenplay
- *Studio One* (1948), series, Writer, Adaptation

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1971: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *I Never Sang for My Father*
- 1960: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *The Nun's Story*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/robert-anderson-46610