I watched Close Encounters again after visiting Devils Tower in Wyoming recently, where the movie has become part of the monument's history. On hearing the voice, I immediately thought "Morgan Freeman." In fact, an online search shows that many others have the same impression. But Freeman is not listed for Close Encounters, not on Internet Movie Database or Wikipedia, for either the movie or the actor. Could he be uncredited, or working under another name?
David Anderson, Richard L. Hawkins, Craig Shreeve, and Bill Thurman in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) — IMDb
A still caption for this air traffic control scene lists four names for the six people in the picture: David Anderson, Richard L. Hawkins, Craig Shreeve, and Bill Thurman. Unfortunately, this scene and still are the most common ones associated with those names. What is the name of the lead actor communicating with the pilots? An image for Morgan Freeman in 1977 could not be found.
The answer came from a column in Jet magazine from February 2, 1978:
Where Close Encounters Of The Third Kind becomes a close encounter of the real kind for Black actor David Anderson who appears as an air traffic controller in the sci-fi thriller. In life, Anderson has been with the Federal Aviation Administration for 27 years — 19 of which he's been an air traffic controller.Anderson's IMDb page shows him appearing in 35 movies and TV shows after Close Encounters, from 1982 to 2007, and lists him in 1985 as a technical consultant, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired).
