John Thomas Anderson of Dallas died Saturday, Feb. 16, after a lengthy struggle with kidney disease. He was 62.
Anderson was born Oct. 8, 1956, in Marshall, Texas, to Joyce Marie and John Thomas Anderson Sr., and was reared as a Baptist. He moved with his parents to Dallas where he attended Dallas public schools and graduate from Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in 1975.
He attended Texas College in Tyler, studying fashion design and interior design.
Early on, Anderson worked in supply & distribution, accessories, and waiting tables at various restaurants before moving into the nightclub scene. In recent years he distributed products by high-end designers. Anderson was a longtime designer, trendsetter, tastemaker and denizen of Dallas’s nightlife — a fixture in the city’s popular culture. “Big John,” as he was universally known, garnered respect and affection over the almost four decades he spent in the Metroplex’s social scene.
Anderson settled easily into Dallas’s burgeoning nightclub/fashion scene in the late 1970s and 1980s, becoming an oft-seen personality at trendy establishments in Lowest Greenville, Deep Ellum, North Dallas and the Brewery district. He went to work at the Starck Club, eventually becoming headwaiter there. He moved easily among friends and regular patrons of the Starck, as well as celebrities such as Stevie Nicks and Grace Jones.
Anderson was known for his fashion-forward style, creating many of the outfits he wore to clubs, gallery openings, concerts and numerous soirees. He worked at other nightspots that became part of Dallas lore and ruled the door at Skip McCarter’s late-night clubs, including Bomb Factory, Adam Hats and Industry.
Anderson was an imposing figure, tall and built like a football player, but his formidable physical presence stood in contrast to his soft-spoken, easygoing personality. His legion of friends typically described him as a gentle giant.
Anderson’s sister, Cassandra Anderson, described him as “extremely gifted and talented … unboxable,” while former Starck Club manager Greg McCone called him “a rock star of the highest order.” McCarter said Anderson was “larger than life” and that he “lit up any room that he entered.”
In addition to his parents and sister Cassandra, Anderson is survived by sisters, Barbara J. Anderson-Anders and Karen Y. Anderson; brothers Terence A. Anderson and Darriel W. Shelton; five nephews, a niece and numerous great-nephews and great-nieces.
A wake will be held from 7-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, at Paradise Funeral Home Chapel, 3910 S. Lancaster, Dallas. Services will be at noon Saturday, Feb. 23, at Bethel Temple Pentecostal Church, 4014 S. Lancaster. Interment will follow at Laurel Land Cemetery.
