Leif Erickson
Acting
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
Born: October 27, 1911
Place of Birth: Alameda, California, USA
Known For
Filmography
as John Tyree
as Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
as Ben Wallace
as Ben Wallace
as Guthrie
as Prescott
as Cal Newkirk
as Carl Colton 'C.C.' Calloway
as William Henry Cameron
as Nicholas Olson
as Amos Wetherall
as Mike Lamont
as Dr. Victor Briggs
as Dr. Harold Malcolm
as Marty Treleavan
as Sheriff Mossman
as Charlie Wheatland
as Big John Cannon
as The Major
as Dave Mannering
as Joe Lean
as Aaron Burr
as Bill Sedley
as Jonas Cord Senior
as Bill Cutler
as General
as Abel Parrish
as President Grover Cleveland
as Jason Hayes
as Gen. Hewitt
as Paul White
as Peterson
as Charlie Ryan
as Bill King
as Sam Barbee
as Dr. Eric Thor
as Dave Blaine
as Andrew Middleton
as Tom Caine
as Josh Tatum
as Frank Travis
as Granville "Granny" Dix
as Harry Hutton
as Eddie Turnbill
as Louis Morel
as Ben Riggs
as Charlie Boyle
as Jim Lewis
as Cash Wilson
as Bill Reynolds
as Lou Glover
as George Ballard
as Wayne Phillips
as Virgil Powell
as Brian Hendricks
as Norman Conover
as Robert Eunson
as Richard Carmichael
as Doug Randell
as Richard Moore
as Glover
as Edgar Blevins
as Sam
as Kalmani
as Mr. George MacLean
as Richards
as Father Provincial aka Ed
as Bob Marshall
as Man
as Sgt. Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson
as Nicholas Reed
as Feder
as General (uncredited)
as Commander Lane
as Marshal John Sutton
as B. Frederick Linaker
as Sam Sargent
as Stranger
as Pete
as Bit Part (uncredited)
as U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
as Bill Chase
as Big Mart
as Fred Anderson Jr.
as Dr. Bruce Gordon
as Tony
as Pringle
as Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
as Dr. Mason
as Gordon
as Fred Lord
as Dr. Harold Matson
as Self (archive footage)
as Beaumont
as Steve Blake
as Kamar (as Leif Erikson)
as Laurie
as Whaba
as Johnny M. Coe
as Bill Stone
as Jake
as Rodney 'Bo-Jo' Brown
as Terry Prescott
as Tommy Van Dusen
as Narrator (voice)
as Peter Cortlant
as Johnny Simpkins
as Bob Hayes
as Howard Nelson
as Paul Lachinski
as Dr. Victor Quimby
as Dick Winters
as Tom Bolton
as Glenn Kasedon
as Curley Prentice
as Bill Ide
as Lawrence
as Band Singer