Leif Erickson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leif Erickson (born William Wycliffe Anderson) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Erickson was born in Alameda, California, near San Francisco. He worked as a soloist in a band as vocalist and trombone player, performed in Max Reinhardt's productions, and then gained a small amount of stage experience in a comedy vaudeville act. Initially billed by Paramount Pictures as Glenn Erickson, he began his screen career as a leading man in Westerns. Erickson enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. Rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer in the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit, he served as a military photographer, shooting film in combat zones, and as an instructor. He was shot down twice in the Pacific as well as receiving two Purple Hearts. Erickson was in the unit that filmed and photographed the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Over four years service, he shot more than 200,000 feet of film for the Navy. Erickson's first films were two 1933 band films with Betty Grable before starting a string of Buster Crabbe Western films based on Zane Grey novels. He would go on to appears in films such as The Snake Pit, Sorry, Wrong Number, Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, Invaders from Mars, On the Waterfront, A Gathering of Eagles, Roustabout, The Carpetbaggers and Mirage. One of his more notable roles was as Deborah Kerr's macho husband in the stage and film versions of Tea and Sympathy. He appeared with Greta Garbo, as her brother in Conquest (1937). He played the role of Pete, the vindictive boat engineer, in the 1951 remake of the famed musical Show Boat. His final appearance in a feature film was in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977). Erickson appeared frequently on television; he was cast as Dr. Hillyer in "Consider Her Ways" (1964) and as Paul White in "The Monkey's Paw—A Retelling" (1965) on CBS's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. However, he is probably best known for The High Chaparral, which aired on NBC from 1967 until 1971. He portrayed a rancher, Big John Cannon, determined to establish a cattle empire in the Arizona Territory while keeping peace with the Apache. Erickson guest-starred in several television series, including Rawhide, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., Medical Center, Cannon, The Rifleman, The Rockford Files, and the 1977 series Hunter. His final role was in an episode of Fantasy Island in 1984. Erickson was married to actress Frances Farmer from 1936 until 1942. The same day that his divorce from Farmer was finalized, June 12, 1942, he married actress Margaret Hayes. They divorced a month later. He married Ann Diamond in 1945. They had two children, William Leif Erickson (born 1946 - died 1971 in a car accident) and Susan Irene Erickson (born 1950). Erickson died of cancer in Pensacola, Florida, on January 29, 1986, aged 74 CLR
Known For
Credits
- 1980 · Wild Times as John Tyree
- 1977 · Hunter as
- 1977 · Twilight's Last Gleaming as Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
- 1977 · The Fantastic Journey as Ben Wallace
- 1975 · Winterhawk as Guthrie
- 1975 · Medical Story as
- 1975 · Abduction as Prescott
- 1975 · Force Five as Cal Newkirk
- 1974 · The Rockford Files as Carl Colton 'C.C.' Calloway
- 1974 · Harry O as
- 1973 · The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping as William Henry Cameron
- 1973 · The Magician as Nicholas Olson
- 1973 · The Evil Touch as
- 1972 · The Streets of San Francisco as
- 1972 · The Family Rico as Mike Lamont
- 1972 · The Daughters of Joshua Cabe as Amos Wetherall
- 1972 · The Rookies as
- 1972 · The New Healers as Dr. Victor Briggs
- 1972 · The Sixth Sense as
- 1971 · The Deadly Dream as Dr. Harold Malcolm
- 1971 · Terror in the Sky as Marty Treleavan
- 1971 · Cannon as
- 1971 · Man and Boy as Sheriff Mossman
- 1970 · Night Gallery as Charlie Wheatland
- 1969 · Medical Center as
- 1968 · The Mod Squad as
- 1967 · Mannix as
- 1967 · The High Chaparral as Big John Cannon
- 1967 · Ironside as
- 1965 · Mirage as The Major
- 1965 · I Saw What You Did as Dave Mannering
- 1965 · Branded as
- 1964 · Roustabout as Joe Lean
- 1964 · Daniel Boone as Aaron Burr
- 1964 · Daniel Boone as Bill Sedley
- 1964 · The Carpetbaggers as Jonas Cord Senior
- 1964 · Strait-Jacket as Bill Cutler
- 1963 · Kraft Suspense Theatre as General
- 1963 · Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre as
- 1963 · The Great Adventure as Abel Parrish
- 1963 · The Great Adventure as President Grover Cleveland
- 1963 · Burke's Law as Jason Hayes
- 1963 · Arrest and Trial as
- 1963 · A Gathering of Eagles as Gen. Hewitt
- 1962 · The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as Paul White
- 1962 · The Virginian as Peterson
- 1962 · The Virginian as Charlie Ryan
- 1962 · The Virginian as Bill King
- 1962 · Shootout at Big Sag as Sam Barbee
- 1961 · The New Breed as Dr. Eric Thor
- 1959 · The Rebel as Dave Blaine
- 1959 · The DuPont Show with June Allyson as Andrew Middleton
- 1959 · Bonanza as Tom Caine
- 1959 · Rawhide as Frank Travis
- 1958 · The Rifleman as
- 1958 · Once Upon a Horse... as Granville "Granny" Dix
- 1958 · Twilight for the Gods as Harry Hutton
- 1957 · Kiss Them for Me as Eddie Turnbill
- 1957 · The Vintage as Louis Morel
- 1957 · Istanbul as Charlie Boyle
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Jim Lewis
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Cash Wilson
- 1956 · Tea and Sympathy as Bill Reynolds
- 1956 · The Fastest Gun Alive as Lou Glover
- 1956 · Star in the Dust as George Ballard
- 1955 · Matinee Theater as
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Wayne Phillips
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Virgil Powell
- 1955 · The Millionaire as Brian Hendricks
- 1955 · The Millionaire as Norman Conover
- 1954 · Climax! as Robert Eunson
- 1954 · Climax! as Richard Carmichael
- 1954 · Climax! as Doug Randell
- 1954 · Climax! as Richard Moore
- 1954 · On the Waterfront as Glover
- 1954 · Inner Sanctum as
- 1953 · Paris Model as Edgar Blevins
- 1953 · Captain Scarface as Sam
- 1953 · Fort Algiers as Kalmani
- 1953 · Invaders from Mars as Mr. George MacLean
- 1953 · A Perilous Journey as Richards
- 1953 · Trouble Along the Way as Father Provincial aka Ed
- 1953 · Born to the Saddle as Bob Marshall
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Man
- 1953 · Never Wave at a WAC as Sgt. Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson
- 1952 · Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd as Morgan
- 1952 · My Wife's Best Friend as Nicholas Reed
- 1952 · Carbine Williams as Feder
- 1952 · With a Song in My Heart as General aboard plane
- 1952 · Sailor Beware as Commander Lane
- 1952 · The Cimarron Kid as Marshal John Sutton
- 1951 · Reunion in Reno as B. Frederick Linaker
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Dan
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Sam Sargent
- 1951 · The Tall Target as Stranger
- 1951 · Show Boat as Pete
- 1951 · Fourteen Hours as Bit Part (uncredited)
- 1951 · Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration as Pilate
- 1950 · Dallas as U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
- 1950 · Three Secrets as Bill Chase
- 1950 · The Showdown as Big Mart
- 1950 · Stella as Fred Anderson Jr.
- 1950 · Mother Didn't Tell Me as Dr. Bruce Gordon
- 1949 · The Lady Gambles as Tony
- 1949 · Johnny Stool Pigeon as Pringle
- 1948 · Joan of Arc as Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
- 1948 · Miss Tatlock's Millions as Dr. Mason
- 1948 · The Snake Pit as Gordon
- 1948 · Sorry, Wrong Number as Fred Lord
- 1948 · The Gay Intruders as Dr. Harold Matson
- 1948 · Bambi Awards as Self (archive footage)
- 1947 · The Gangster as Beaumont
- 1947 · Blonde Savage as Steve Blake
- 1942 · Arabian Nights as Kamar (as Leif Erikson)
- 1942 · Night Monster as Laurie
- 1942 · Pardon My Sarong as Whaba
- 1942 · Eagle Squadron as Johnny M. Coe
- 1942 · Are Husbands Necessary? as Bill Stone
- 1942 · The Fleet's In as Jake
- 1941 · H.M. Pulham, Esq. as Rodney 'Bo-Jo' Brown
- 1941 · The Blonde from Singapore as Terry Prescott
- 1941 · Nothing But the Truth as Tommy Van Dusen
- 1939 · Crisis as Narrator (voice)
- 1939 · One Third of a Nation as Peter Cortlant
- 1938 · Ride a Crooked Mile as Johnny Simpkins
- 1938 · The Big Broadcast of 1938 as Bob Hayes
- 1937 · Thrill of a Lifetime as Howard Nelson
- 1937 · Conquest as Paul Lachinski
- 1937 · Waikiki Wedding as Dr. Victor Quimby
- 1936 · College Holiday as Dick Winters
- 1936 · Girl of the Ozarks as Tom Bolton
- 1936 · Desert Gold as Glenn Kasedon
- 1936 · Drift Fence as Curley Prentice
- 1935 · Nevada as Bill Ide
- 1935 · Wanderer of the Wasteland as Lawrence