Years active 1994–present Nationality American | Notable work Shooting Range | |
Born April 1, 1978 ( 1978-04-01 ) Altadena, California, United States Occupation Actor, memoirist, screenwriter, producer Awards Bronx Recognizes Its Own Award Website www.Nahshondionanderson.com Education California State University, Los Angeles Award Bronx Recognizes Its Own Award | ||
Nahshon Dion Anderson (born 1978) is an Afro-Mexican and Atakapa, Choctaw, and Black Foot Native American, French Creole writer, producer, filmmaker and 2014 recipient of the Bronx Recognizes its own award (BRIO), given by the Bronx Council on the Arts.
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Early life
Anderson was born in Los Angeles County in the suburb of Altadena and raised as a Jehovah's Witness. Anderson's family resided in Pasadena for several years. Anderson attended John Marshall Junior High School with Actress Lark Vorhees and Tamala Jones as well as Actor Jaleel White. As a member of Ms. Smiths drama club, Anderson was invited to view live TV show tapings of various sitcoms at Sony Studios in Culver City, mainly Family Matters.
Career
In 1994, Anderson began working at Chuck E. Cheese as Chuck E. and was cast in a TV commercial that was shot in Pasadena. From 1995-1996, Anderson worked at Universal Studios Hollywood during the weekends and attended John Muir High School in Pasadena with Tashauna Howard. Her godfather Tupac Shakur attended their prom on June 7 with his personal bodyguard at the Biltmore Hotel In Los Angeles. Anderson inquired about working in Hollywood, and Tupac directed her to contact Look Here Productions which was producing his music videos at the time.
Upon taking rapper Tupac's advice in the summer of 1996, Anderson started off as an intern at Look Hear Productions with Tracy D. Robinson and Gobi M. Rahimi. While attending California State University Los Angeles for two semesters after reading Black Talent News, Anderson started working at The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show as a production assistant in 1997. Within months Anderson became Executive Producer Michael Davies personal assistant working at Buena Vista Television in the development department along with executives of The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show Hayma Washington and Shauna Garr.
Anderson was the production coordinator for hip-hop artists, Russell Simmons' One World Music Beat, Naughty by Nature's music video Jamboree, Master P's film, Da Last Don, and the documentary 1 More Hit by Shauna Garr of Smart Girl Productions. In 1999, Anderson joined the Screen Actors Guild, appearing in Diana Krall's music video Let's Face the Music, Arrest & Trial, a Nintendo commercial, with Sheryl Crow at the 26th Annual American Music Awards, and did print modeling for PacSun. Anderson was also hired by VIBE writer Brianna Hyneman to assist her at The Source Hip Hop Music Awards 1999 and in 2001 moved to Fort Greene for six months and worked briefly with The Bachelor Pad and Trace (magazine).
Assault
On July 4, 1997, at 1am, Anderson was assaulted by offender Ricky Laverne Marshall at Jim Thorpe Park in Hawthorne, California. In the spring of 1998, Anderson testified against Marshall at Los Angeles Superior Court Torrance Courthouse. The case was presided over by Judge William Hollingsworth and Marshall was found not guilty on all charges. However, Marshall had other felony charges pending and was found guilty and sentenced for the sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 in October 1998. Marshall is currently serving his sentence at Mule Creek State Prison in California and is eligible for parole in 2036.
Writing
In 2011, Anderson relocated to New York City and began writing workshop classes at Actors Fund of America. Nahshons prose deals with themes such as Identity, PTSD, police brutality, Criminal Justice, economic inequality, forbidden love, prostitution, religious persecution, LGBT culture, rage, revenge, gender, suicide, shame and loneliness. Nahshon wrote short story Shooting Range, which was edited by former VIBE magazine writer and freelance editor Brianna Hyneman who had been friends with Anderson since 1999. In 2014 Anderson submitted manuscript Shooting Range into the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) competition. Out of 520 applicants her manuscript made it to the final round of judging receiving a 3.6 out of a 4.8. She was encouraged to resubmit when the nonfiction category opened up again in 2017.
Anderson contributed to the book Bronx Memoir Project: Vol. 1 in 2014. Anderson is a 2015 VONA/Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation Fellow and studied under writer Andrew X. Pham, as well as a 2016 Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow for non-fiction studying under Sarah Schulman, and the inaugural recipient of the Bryn Kelly Scholarship.
Anthologies
Non-fiction books
Activism
While residing in Hollywood and West Hollywood California, Anderson volunteered as an outreach coordinator for the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition and distributed food to local homeless individuals at Sycamore and Romaine. Anderson volunteered for Heal the Bay conducting outreach and was a Production Associate for their 20th-anniversary fundraiser. Anderson also served as a Production Associate for Magic Johnson's 20th Mid Summer Night Magic week long fundraising event. Anderson interned at the Transgender Legal Defense Education Fund in New York City and worked on the Name Change Project. As an artivist Anderson served as a grant review panelist for Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens Art Councils and in 2016 was selected by New York philanthropist Barbaralee Diamonstein-spielvogel to be a New York State Council on the Arts Advisory panelist.