Mr. Anderson, one of three children, was born on Oct. 14, 1952, in Newport, R.I., and spent much of his childhood on the move, often performing on the streets for money, he told People. He had lived in many cities, including Chicago, New York, St. Louis and New Orleans, by the time he landed in California at age 16. From there he found success as a comic magician, which opened the door to his acting career.

About his mother, he said to People: “She was a hustler, yeah. She did a lot of things. We moved around a lot, and she had a lot of men friends.”

But he said his childhood was not bad, adding that his dubious background should not be viewed any differently from his mother’s.

“I respect my mother; she was very concerned with taking care of us,” he said. “She did what needed to be done to try to keep us together. People find my criminal days amusing, but they find her background shocking. I don’t draw any line.”

Mr. Anderson told People that his father was a salesman who was mostly absent from his life, and that he had not seen him for 15 years before his death.

Mr. Anderson is survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Morgan, and two children from his first marriage, to Leslie Pollack: Eva Fay Anderson, a writer and producer in Los Angeles; and Dashiell Anderson, a teacher.

In his late teens and early 20s, Mr. Anderson traveled the country performing magic. During a stint in Austin, Tex., about 45 years ago, he was performing on the street when he met someone else entertaining passers-by: a juggler named Turk Pipkin.