Robert Anthony was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, and spent his early years in that state.
His first stage experience was in grammar school, and then he went on to appear in high school plays and later studied English and Drama at Western Carolina University.
Shortly thereafter he headed to New York City to pursue his interest in acting.
With no job and no contacts, he wandered Times Square for several weeks reading the trade papers and then began to study with Madeleine Sherwood of the Actors Studio.
Robert Anthony has appeared in numerous films, television shows, and off-off Broadway productions, was a founding member of the Courtyard Playhouse and studied filmmaking at New York University.
It was some time later, after performing a scene in a showcase production, that he was hired by the Kenley Players for a summer of stock in Columbus, Ohio.
From there he was drafted into the army and served two years as a military policeman at West Point.
Over the years he has held a variety of jobs, working as a shrimp boat operator, Bible salesman, dishwasher, waiter, bartender, carpenter, cook, caterer, painter, and party clown.
For several years he had a weekly column in a Wall Street newspaper and was later associate editor at a real estate magazine, where he conducted interviews with industry leaders and wrote feature articles and cover stories.
Mr. Anthony also established an art gallery, The Window Box Gallery, in the Soho district of New York City and served as managing director for five years, presenting solo and group exhibitions of contemporary art.
In recent years he has completed six full-length plays and more than three dozen one acts, six of which have been produced in New York City. Additional productions have been in North Carolina and Virginia.
Mr. Anthony currently divides his time between New York City and Cherryville, North Carolina. He believes his small-town observations coupled with his big-city adventures have provided a broad palette for his dramatic interpretations.
Among the playwrights he admires and has been influenced by are, in alphabetical order, Edward Albee, Samuel Beckett, William Inge, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, August Strindberg, Tennessee Williams, and August Wilson.
He once encountered Tennessee on Fifth Avenue but was so awestruck he remembers nothing of their brief conversation.