Kurt Garner Andon of Stuart, Florida, and Formerly of Westhampton Beach Dies August 29

Westhampton Beach native Kurt Garner Andon died peacefully at his home in Stuart, Florida, on August 29 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 78.

Born in Southampton Hospital on January 29, 1947, he was the third child of the late former longtime mayor of Westhampton Beach, Arma E. “Ham” Andon Sr. and his wife Ruth, and was raised in Westhampton Beach.

He attended Westhampton Beach schools before graduating in 1965 from Valdosta High School in Rome, Georgia, where he played football under coach Nick Hyder, who was a cousin on his mother’s side. In his senior year, the Valdosta Wildcats won the Georgia State Championship.

His younger brother Arma Andon recalls that after graduating from high school, Kurt Andon returned to Westhampton Beach and joined with him and their friend Jock McLean to help operate and book up-and-coming bands for The Eye nightclub on Dune Road in Westhampton Beach.

Having grown up on the East End, he is remembered by friends as an avid sportsman who enjoyed all the activities the area had to offer: hunting, fishing on the bays and offshore, waterskiing, swimming in the ocean, and much more. Later in life, his athletic passions also included cycling and on most any day, according to his friends, he would routinely ride his bicycle 20-30 miles.

In 1987, he married Cecelia Sample of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and they made their home in Los Angeles. In California, he continued to pursue a career as an actor over many years while also selling Porsches and other high performance automobiles out of an L.A. dealership, and also serving as a principal in Gold Coast Equipment and Leasing Co.

Although his IMDb page cites only three films in the “Known For” category—“15 Minutes” (2001); “Coma” (1978); and “The Bronx Bull” (2016) — his longtime friend Andrew Botsford recalls that Andon had a number of small roles over the years in both television and movies, wrote several screenplays and enjoyed all aspects of the entertainment industry as a longtime member of the Screen Actors Guild.

“I always admired the way that Kurt never stopped hustling and putting himself out there,” Botsford said, “always meeting with writers, producers, directors and anyone else who might help get him an audition or a callback, or connect him to someone else who could. So often, late at night when I was channel surfing, Kurt’s face would appear in a random scene from an even more random film. ‘Maneaters Are Loose!’ (1978) is a classic example that I’ll never forget.”

In 2015, Andon moved to Stuart, Florida, to be closer to his sister Gail Andon Jackson, who predeceased him in 2016, and his brother Arma Andon. While he continued to seek work as an actor, he turned his attention more to writing. In 2020, Authors Press published his short story/novella “Young Bigfoot.” Inspired by something he was watching on the History Channel, according to Botsford, the fantasy/folklore story focuses on the friendship between a young Bigfoot and an adolescent boy during the westward expansion and Gold Rush of 1849.

“Kurt always had phenomenal energy,” Botsford said, recalling that “he was known to many of his friends as ‘The Wild Man’ in his younger years, but asked that the moniker be changed to ‘The Mild Man’ to reflect his evolution into the more mature self-image that he was working to cultivate.”

Even so, Botsford said, “his imagination and energy and mischievous sense of humor never flagged, and right up to the end, the story and screenplay ideas and all sorts of hustles emanating from his mind were like corn popping.”

“Since he has passed,” Botsford added, “I am hoping he would forgive me sharing that he was, in the most humble way, immensely proud of his approximately 37 years of sobriety. He never, ever made a big deal out of it, but he cleaved to his 12-step program and frequently worked to help others struggling with alcohol or addiction in jails and hospitals.”

Andon’s niece Sundy Schermeyer recalls that “spending time with Kurt as a kid was always a great time, enjoying everything our area had to offer: Walks at the Wildlife Refuge, swimming in the ocean, waterskiing, fishing, crabbing, croquet, badminton, music … you name it. I was definitely the youngest kid at Sherman’s playing pinball and waiting for our ribs! Kurt carried that energy and passed it on through the generations of our family; we will all miss him terribly.”

Predeceased by his parents and his brother Gary Andon and sister Gail Andon Jackson, he is survived by his two children, Sara Andon and Arma Houston Andon of Nashville; his brother, Arma E. Andon Jr.; sister-in-law, Rosa Andon; nieces, Sundy Schermeyer (Michael), Shelly Ruth Johnson, and Alissa Andon; great-nieces Shelby Schermeyer and Anaissa Johnson; nephews Avery Andon (Natalie), Alec Andon and Arlis Andon; and great-nephews Michael Schermeyer Jr. and Andon Johnson.

Family and friends are invited to a celebration of his life on Saturday, September 27, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Westhampton Yacht Squadron in Remsenburg.