# John Ericson

John Ericson (born Joseph Meibes; September 25, 1926 – May 3, 2020) was a German-born American actor. He was known primarily for his television work, notably as private detective Sam Bolt on the ABC series Honey West (1965–66), and his roles in several MGM films of the 1950s.

## Early life

Ericson's parents were Ellen Wilson, a Swedish actress and operatic star, and Carl F. Meibes, who later became president of a New York food extract corporation. The family went to the United States from Belgium when he was three.

## Career

Ericson gained early acting experience with stock companies at the Gateway Theatre in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. He appeared on Broadway in the original 1951 production of Stalag 17, directed by José Ferrer.
Ericson made a number of films for MGM in quick succession in the 1950s. His first appearance was in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. He also appeared in Rhapsody, The Student Prince, Green Fire (all in 1954), and in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). He co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck in Forty Guns (1957). In 1958 he appeared as Sheriff Barney Wiley in the Western Day of the Badman which starred Fred MacMurray.
For the next 30 years, his career continued mostly on television. He appeared in the lead role in "The Peter Bartley Story" of the CBS drama The Millionaire. He appeared with Dorothy Malone in the episode "Mutiny" of CBS's Appointment with Adventure (which aired on January 1, 1956). He made guest appearances in The Restless Gun (1958) and Target: The Corruptors! (1961). Ericson also guest starred twice on Bonanza: he played Vince Dagen in the 1960 episode "Breed of Violence" and he portrayed Wade Hollister in the 1967 episode "Journey to Terror". From 1965 to 1966, he co-starred as the partner of Anne Francis on Honey West. (He and Francis had played brother and sister in Bad Day at Black Rock.) In 1971, he appeared as Jack Bonham on The Men From Shiloh in the episode "The Political".
He played the title role in Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), and his other film appearances included roles in Under Ten Flags (1960), Slave Queen of Babylon (1963), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), Operation Atlantis (1965), The Money Jungle (1968), The Bamboo Saucer (1968), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Crash! (1976), and The Far Side of Jericho (2006).

## Personal life and death

Ericson was engaged to Anne Bancroft in 1951. He married twice and had a son and a daughter from his first marriage to Milly Coury. He was married to his second wife Karen Huston Ericson for 46 years. He died of pneumonia on May 3, 2020, aged 93.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1951 | Teresa | Philip Cass | |
| 1951 | It's a Big Country | Naval Ensign | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Rhapsody | James Guest | |
| 1954 | The Student Prince | Count Von Asterburg | |
| 1954 | Green Fire | Donald Knowland | |
| 1955 | Bad Day at Black Rock | Pete Wirth | |
| 1955 | The Return of Jack Slade | Jack Slade, Jr. | |
| 1956 | The Cruel Tower | Tom Kittredge | |
| 1957 | Forty Guns | Brockie Drummond | |
| 1957 | Oregon Passage | Lt. Niles Ord | |
| 1958 | Day of the Badman | Sheriff Barney Wiley | |
| 1960 | Pretty Boy Floyd | Charles Arthur 'Pretty Boy' Floyd | |
| 1960 | Under Ten Flags | Krüger | |
| 1963 | Slave Queen of Babylon | Kir | |
| 1964 | 7 Faces of Dr. Lao | Ed Cunningham / Transformed Pan | |
| 1965 | Operation Atlantis | George Steele | |
| 1967 | The Vengeance of Pancho Villa | Don Diego Alvarado / Diego Owens | |
| 1967 | The Money Jungle | Blake Heller | |
| 1968 | The Destructors | Dutch Holland | |
| 1968 | The Bamboo Saucer | Fred Norwood | |
| 1969 | Black Talisman | Will Hunter | |
| 1971 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Col. Heller | |
| 1975 | Kumander Agimat | | |
| 1975 | Hustler Squad | Maj. Stonewell / Stony | |
| 1976 | Crash! | Dr. Gregg Martin | |
| 1978 | The House of the Dead | Talmudge | |
| 1984 | Final Mission | Colonel Joshua Cain | |
| 1989 | Primary Target | Phil Karlson | |
| 2006 | Birthday | Old man | Short subject |
| 2006 | The Far Side of Jericho | Charlie | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Mike | 1 episode |
| 1951 | Studio One | Anderson | 1 episode |
| 1951 | The Philco Television Playhouse | | 1 episode |
| 1951 | Out There | | 1 episode |
| 1951–1956 | Kraft Theatre | Henry Cristof / Matt Wilson | 2 episodes |
| 1952 | Mr. District Attorney | | 1 episode |
| 1955 | Star Stage | Rick | 1 episode |
| 1955–1957 | General Electric Theatre | Red / Wonder Boy Nick | 2 episodes |
| 1955–1957 | Cavalcade of America | Joe Loring / Leon Patterson | 3 episodes |
| 1956 | Appointment with Adventure | The Captain | 1 episode |
| 1956 | Stage 7 | | 1 episode |
| 1956 | Chevron Hall of Stars | Salem Abercromby | 2 episodes |
| 1956–1957 | Climax! | Cameron Lacey / Lindy Jackson / William Herrick | 3 episodes |
| 1956–1958 | Schlitz Playhouse | Eddie Markham / Gunner's Mate Eddie Younger / Paul | 5 episodes |
| 1956–1958 | Playhouse 90 | Johnny Hanneman / Leo West | 2 episodes |
| 1956–1959 | Zane Grey Theatre | Will Ruxton / Lane Baker / Linc Hardaway / Andy McCall | 4 episodes |
| 1956–1960 | Letter to Loretta | Will Hadley / Roy Hendricks / Carl Stanton | 3 episodes |
| 1958 | The Millionaire | Sgt. Peter Bartley | 1 episode |
| 1958 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | Brom Bones / Hiawatha | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Wagon Train | Dick Richardson | 1 episode |
| 1958–1959 | The Restless Gun | Henry Wilson / Bud Rainey | 2 episodes |
| 1959 | The David Niven Show | Twist Thompson | 1 episode |
| 1959 | Adventures in Paradise | Jeff Hazen | 1 episode |
| 1959–1961 | Rawhide | Tom Bryan / Dan Fletcher | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | Dick | 1 episode |
| 1960 | The Chevy Mystery Show | Ray | 1 episode |
| 1960–1967 | Bonanza | Vince Dagen / Wade Hollister | 2 episodes |
| 1961 | The United States Steel Hour | | 1 episode |
| 1961 | Monte Carlo | | Unsold pilot |
| 1961–1962 | Kraft Mystery Theater | Dick | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | Route 66 | David Job | 1 episode |
| 1962 | Target: The Corruptors! | Grauer | 1 episode |
| 1962 | The Dick Powell Show | Fitz | 1 episode |
| 1963–1965 | Burke's Law | Gil Harris / Frank Jorek / Sam Bolt | 3 episodes |
| 1965 | The Fugitive | Lars | 1 episode |
| 1965 | Profiles in Courage | Calvin Pilleo | 1 episode |
| 1965 | Vacation Playhouse | Pete | 1 episode |
| 1965–1966 | Honey West | Sam Bolt | 30 episodes |
| 1967 | The Invaders | Hardy Smith | 1 episode |
| 1968–1973 | The F.B.I. | Sgt. Devlin / Craig Walden | 2 episodes |
| 1969 | Gunsmoke | Blaine Copperton | 1 episode |
| 1969–1971 | Medical Center | Pete Duncan / Steve Crowley | 2 episodes |
| 1970 | Ironside | Fred | 1 episode |
| 1970 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Peter Barton | 1 episode |
| 1971 | The Virginian | Jack Bonham | 1 episode |
| 1971 | Longstreet | Frank Glendon | 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Bounty Man | Billy Riddle | TV movie |
| 1972 | Assignment Vienna | Jonathan | 1 episode |
| 1973 | Tenafly | Ken Sheperd | 1 episode |
| 1973 | Escape | | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Hog Wild | Morris Melborne | TV movie |
| 1974 | Hawkins | Frank Pearson | 1 episode |
| 1974 | The Wide World of Mystery | Murray | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Doc Elliot | Raymond Boardlow | 1 episode |
| 1974 | The Streets of San Francisco | Shelby | 1 episode |
| 1974–1975 | Police Story | Lieutenant Charlie Parks / Investigator Logan | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | Barbary Coast | McCord | 1 episode |
| 1975 | S.W.A.T. | Captain Brenner | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Police Woman | Bert Travis | 1 episode |
| 1977 | The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | Captain Rogers | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Vega$ | Mr. Smith | 1 episode |
| 1978–1983 | CHiPs | Bob Patterson / Captain Burke | 2 episodes |
| 1978–1984 | Fantasy Island | Policeman / Ellis Lathrop / Gene Collins / Hawkins | 4 episodes |
| 1980 | The Ghosts of Buxley Hall | George Ross | TV movie |
| 1981 | Nero Wolfe | Arthur Poor | 1 episode |
| 1982 | One Day at a Time | Clint Wilkens | 1 episode |
| 1983 | Knight Rider | Phillip Royce | 1 episode |
| 1983 | The A-Team | Calvin Cutter | 1 episode |
| 1984 | Automan | Woodrow 'Woody' Oster | 1 episode |
| 1984 | Airwolf | Dr. Karl Krüger | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Robert Kennedy & His Times | Senator | Miniseries |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Henderson Wheatley | 1 episode |
| 1987 | General Hospital | Eric Ingstrom | |
| 1989 | Hardball | | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Crash | Doctor's Father | 1 episode |