Leif Erickson
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 27, 1911
- Died
- January 29, 1986 (aged 74)
- Birthplace
- Alameda, California, USA
Biography
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
Photos
Filmography
Wild Times
TV · as John Tyree · 2 eps
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Movie · as Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
The Fantastic Journey
Movie · as Ben Wallace
The Fantastic Journey
TV · as Ben Wallace · 1 ep
Winterhawk
Movie · as Guthrie
Abduction
Movie · as Prescott
Force Five
Movie · as Cal Newkirk
Medical Story
TV · as Dr. Taussing · 1 ep
Harry O
TV · 1 ep
The Rockford Files
TV · as Carl Colton 'C.C.' Calloway · 1 ep
The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping
Movie · as William Henry Cameron
The Evil Touch
TV · 1 ep
The Magician
TV · as Nicholas Olson · 1 ep
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
Movie · as Amos Wetherall
The New Healers
Movie · as Dr. Victor Briggs
The Family Rico
Movie · as Mike Lamont
The Rookies
TV · 1 ep
The Streets of San Francisco
TV · 1 ep
The Sixth Sense
TV · 1 ep
Man and Boy
Movie · as Sheriff Mossman
The Deadly Dream
Movie · as Dr. Harold Malcolm
Terror in the Sky
Movie · as Marty Treleavan
Cannon
TV · 1 ep
Night Gallery
TV · as Charlie Wheatland · 2 eps
Medical Center
TV · 1 ep
The Mod Squad
TV · 1 ep
Mannix
TV · 1 ep
Ironside
TV · 1 ep
The High Chaparral
TV · as Big John Cannon · 98 eps
I Saw What You Did
Movie · as Dave Mannering
Mirage
Movie · as The Major
Branded
TV · 1 ep
Roustabout
Movie · as Joe Lean
Strait-Jacket
Movie · as Bill Cutler
The Carpetbaggers
Movie · as Jonas Cord Sr.
Daniel Boone
TV · as Aaron Burr, Bill Sedley · 1 ep
A Gathering of Eagles
Movie · as Gen. Hewitt
Burke's Law
TV · as Jason Hayes · 1 ep
The Great Adventure
TV · as Abel Parrish, President Grover Cleveland · 1 ep
Kraft Suspense Theatre
TV · as General · 1 ep
Arrest and Trial
TV · 1 ep
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
TV · 2 eps
Shootout at Big Sag
Movie · as Sam Barbee
The Virginian
TV · as Peterson, Charlie Ryan, Bill King · 1 ep
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV · as Paul White, Doctor Hellyer · 1 ep
The New Breed
TV · as Dr. Eric Thor · 1 ep
The Shape of the River
Movie · as William Dean Howells
Rawhide
TV · as Frank Travis · 1 ep
The Rebel
TV · as Dave Blaine · 1 ep
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
TV · as Andrew Middleton · 1 ep
Bonanza
TV · as Tom Caine, Josh Tatum · 1 ep
Once Upon a Horse...
Movie · as Granville "Granny" Dix
Twilight for the Gods
Movie · as Harry Hutton
The Rifleman
TV · 1 ep
Kiss Them for Me
Movie · as Eddie Turnbill
Istanbul
Movie · as Charlie Boyle
The Vintage
Movie · as Louis Morel
One Coat of White
Movie · as Ben Riggs
Panic Button
Movie · as Paul Henderson
The Fastest Gun Alive
Movie · as Lou Glover
Tea and Sympathy
Movie · as Bill Reynolds
Star in the Dust
Movie · as George Ballard
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV · as Jim Lewis, Cash Wilson · 1 ep
Gunsmoke
TV · as Virgil Powell · 1 ep
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
TV · as Wayne Phillips · 1 ep
The Millionaire
TV · as Brian Hendricks, Norman Conover · 1 ep
Matinee Theater
TV · 2 eps
On the Waterfront
Movie · as Glover
Climax!
TV · as Robert Eunson, Richard Carmichael, Doug Randell, Richard Moore · 1 ep
Inner Sanctum
TV · 1 ep
Invaders from Mars
Movie · as George MacLean
Trouble Along the Way
Movie · as Father Provincial aka Ed
Never Wave at a WAC
Movie · as Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson
A Perilous Journey
Movie · as Richards
Paris Model
Movie · as Edgar Blevins
Born to the Saddle
Movie · as Bob Marshall
Fort Algiers
Movie · as Kalmani
Captain Scarface
Movie · as Sam
General Electric Theater
TV · as Man · 1 ep
The Cimarron Kid
Movie · as Marshal John Sutton
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
Movie · as Morgan
With a Song in My Heart
Movie · as General (uncredited)
My Wife's Best Friend
Movie · as Nicholas Reed
Sailor Beware
Movie · as Commander Lane
Carbine Williams
Movie · as Feder
The Tall Target
Movie · as Stranger
Show Boat
Movie · as Pete
Fourteen Hours
Movie · as Bit Part (uncredited)
Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration
Movie · as Pilate
Reunion in Reno
Movie · as B. Frederick Linaker
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · as Dan, Sam Sargent · 1 ep
Three Secrets
Movie · as Bill Chase
Dallas
Movie · as U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
Stella
Movie · as Fred Anderson Jr.
Mother Didn't Tell Me
Movie · as Dr. Bruce Gordon
The Showdown
Movie · as Big Mart
The Lady Gambles
Movie · as Tony
Johnny Stool Pigeon
Movie · as Pringle
Sorry, Wrong Number
Movie · as Fred Lord
Joan of Arc
Movie · as Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
The Snake Pit
Movie · as Gordon
The Gay Intruders
Movie · as Dr. Harold Matson
Miss Tatlock's Millions
Movie · as Dr. Mason
Bambi
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
The Gangster
Movie · as Beaumont
Blonde Savage
Movie · as Steve Blake
Arabian Nights
Movie · as Kamar (as Leif Erikson)
The Fleet's In
Movie · as Jake
Night Monster
Movie · as Laurie
Are Husbands Necessary?
Movie · as Bill Stone
Eagle Squadron
Movie · as Johnny M. Coe
Pardon My Sarong
Movie · as Whaba
Nothing but the Truth
Movie · as Tommy Van Dusen
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Movie · as Rodney 'Bo-Jo' Brown
The Blonde from Singapore
Movie · as Terry Prescott
One Third of a Nation
Movie · as Peter Cortlant
Crisis
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
The Big Broadcast of 1938
Movie · as Bob Hayes
Ride a Crooked Mile
Movie · as Johnny Simpkins
Conquest
Movie · as Paul Lachinski
Waikiki Wedding
Movie · as Dr. Victor Quimby
Thrill of a Lifetime
Movie · as Howard Nelson
Drift Fence
Movie · as Curley Prentice
Desert Gold
Movie · as Glenn Kasedon
College Holiday
Movie · as Dick Winters
Girl of the Ozarks
Movie · as Tom Bolton
Wanderer of the Wasteland
Movie · as Lawrence
Nevada
Movie · as Bill Ide
Air Tonic
Movie · as Band Singer