Leif Erickson (actor)

Leif Erickson (actor)
Leif Erickson (born William Wycliffe Anderson; October 27, 1911 – January 29, 1986) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early life
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.
Military service
Erickson enlisted in the U.S. 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, and received two Purple Hearts. Erickson was in the unit that filmed and photographed the Japanese surrender aboard the in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Over four years service, he shot more than of film for the Navy.
Acting career
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 went on to appear 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. He is probably best known, however, 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 (two episodes, 1961–1965); as Aaron Burr in Daniel Boone (two episodes, 1964–1970); Gunsmoke; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Medical Center; Longstreet; Cannon; The Rifleman; The Rockford Files; The Rookies; Night Gallery; and the 1977 series Hunter. His final role was in an episode of Fantasy Island in 1984.
Death
Erickson died of cancer in Pensacola, Florida, on January 29, 1986, aged 74.
Selected filmography
The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1933) as Band Singer with Ted Fio Rito
Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935) as Lawrence
Nevada (1935) as Bill Ide
Drift Fence (1936) as Curley Prentiss
Desert Gold (1936) as Glenn Kasedon
Girl of the Ozarks (1936) as Tom Bolton
College Holiday (1936) as Dick Winters
Waikiki Wedding (1937) as Dr. Victor Quimby
Conquest (1937) as Paul Lachinski
Thrill of a Lifetime (1937) as Howard 'Howdy' Nelson
The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) as Bob Hayes
Ride a Crooked Mile (1938) as Johnny Simpkins
...One Third of a Nation... (1939) as Peter Cortlant
Nothing but the Truth (1941) as Tommy Van Dusen
The Blonde from Singapore (1941) as Terry Prescott
H. M. Pulham, Esq. (1941) as Rodney 'Bo-Jo' Brown
The Fleet's In (1942) as Jake
Are Husbands Necessary? (1942) as Bill Stone
Eagle Squadron (1942) as Johnny M. Coe
Pardon My Sarong (1942) as Whaba
Night Monster (1942) as Laurie
Arabian Nights (1942) as Kamar
Blonde Savage (1947) as Steve Blake
The Gangster (1947) as Beaumont
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) as Fred Lord
The Gay Intruders (1948) as Dr. Harold Matson
The Snake Pit (1948) as Gordon
Joan of Arc (1948) as Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
Miss Tatlock's Millions (1948) as Dr. Mason
The Lady Gambles (1949) as Tony
Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949) as Pringle
Mother Didn't Tell Me (1950) as Dr. Bruce Gordon
Love That Brute (1950) as Elmdale Military Academy Captain (uncredited)
Stella (1950) as Fred Anderson Jr.
The Showdown (1950) as Big Mart
Three Secrets (1950) as Bill Chase
Dallas (1950) as U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
Fourteen Hours (1951) as Bit Part (uncredited)
Show Boat (1951) as Pete
The Tall Target (1951) as Stranger
Reunion in Reno (1951) as B. Frederick Linaker
The Cimarron Kid (1952) as Marshal John Sutton
Sailor Beware (1952) as Cmdr. Lane
With a Song in My Heart (1952) as General (uncredited)
Carbine Williams (1952) as Feder
My Wife's Best Friend (1952) as Nicholas Reed
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) as Morgan
Never Wave at a WAC (1953) as Sgt. Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson
Born to the Saddle (1953) as Bob Marshall
Trouble Along the Way (1953) as Father Provincial aka Ed
Trial at Tara (1953) as King Laera
A Perilous Journey (1953) as Richards
Invaders from Mars (1953) as Mr. George MacLean
Fort Algiers (1953) as Kalmani
Captain Scarface (1953) as Sam
Paris Model (1953) as Edgar Blevins
On the Waterfront (1954) as Glover, Lead Investigator for Crime Commission
Star in the Dust (1956) as George Ballard
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) as Lou Glover
Tea and Sympathy (1956) as Bill Reynolds
Istanbul (1957) as Charlie Boyle
The Vintage (1957) as Louis Morel
Kiss Them for Me (1957) as Eddie Turnbill
Twilight for the Gods (1958) as Harry Hutton
Once Upon a Horse... (1958) as Granville 'Granny' Dix
Shoot Out at Big Sag (1962) as Sam Barbee
A Gathering of Eagles (1963) as Gen. Hewitt
Strait-Jacket (1964) as Bill Cutler
The Carpetbaggers (1964) as Jonas Cord Sr.
Roustabout (1964) as Joe Lean
Mirage (1965) as Major Crawford Gilcuddy
I Saw What You Did (1965) as Dave Mannering
Man and Boy (1971) as Mossman
Terror in the Sky (1971) as Marty Treleavan
The Mod Squad (1972) as Lt. Jerry Price
Night Gallery (1973) as Charlie Wheatland
Abduction (1975) as Prescott
Winterhawk (1975) as Guthrie
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) as Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
Television
See also
References
External links
1911 births
1986 deaths
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
20th-century trombonists
American male film actors
American male television actors
American trombonists
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Male actors from San Francisco
Male trombonists
Male Western (genre) film actors
Military personnel from California
Musicians from San Francisco
People from Alameda, California
People from Pensacola, Florida
Shot-down aviators
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy sailors
Western (genre) television actors