Leif Erickson
Known for: Acting
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
Filmography
Series
Ironside
1967
Series
Bonanza
Tom Caine
1959
Series
Bonanza
Josh Tatum
1959
Series
Mannix
1967
Series
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Paul White
1962
Series
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Doctor Hellyer
1962
Series
The Rockford Files
Carl Colton 'C.C.' Calloway
1974
Series
The Rifleman
1958
Series
The Virginian
Peterson
1962
Series
The Virginian
Charlie Ryan
1962
Series
The Virginian
Bill King
1962
Series
Climax!
Robert Eunson
1954
Series
Climax!
Richard Carmichael
1954
Series
Climax!
Doug Randell
1954
Series
Climax!
Richard Moore
1954
Series
Matinee Theater
1955
Series
Cannon
1971
Series
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Jim Lewis
1956
Series
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Cash Wilson
1956
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
Series
Bambi
Self (archive footage)
1948
Series
Daniel Boone
Aaron Burr
1964
Series
Daniel Boone
Bill Sedley
1964
Series
Rawhide
Frank Travis
1959
Series
Medical Center
1969
Series
Burke's Law
Jason Hayes
1963
Series
Gunsmoke
Virgil Powell
1955
Series
The Rookies
1972
Series
Night Gallery
Charlie Wheatland
1970
Series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Wayne Phillips
1955
Series
The High Chaparral
Big John Cannon
1967
Series
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
Series
Kraft Suspense Theatre
General
1963
Series
The Mod Squad
1968
Series
Branded
1965
Series
Harry O
1974
Series
The Millionaire
Brian Hendricks
1955
Series
The Millionaire
Norman Conover
1955
Series
The Rebel
Dave Blaine
1959
Series
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Andrew Middleton
1959
Series
Arrest and Trial
1963
Series
The Great Adventure
Abel Parrish
1963
Series
The Great Adventure
President Grover Cleveland
1963
Series
The New Breed
Dr. Eric Thor
1961
Series
The Magician
Nicholas Olson
1973
Series
Inner Sanctum
1954
Series
Medical Story
Dr. Taussing
1975
Series
The Sixth Sense
1972
Series
The Fantastic Journey
Ben Wallace
1977
Film
On the Waterfront
Glover
1954
Series
The Evil Touch
1973
Series
General Electric Theater
Man
1953
Film
The Fastest Gun Alive
Lou Glover
1956
Film
Joan of Arc
Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
1948
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Dan
1951
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Sam Sargent
1951
Film
Sorry, Wrong Number
Fred Lord
1948
Film
Fourteen Hours
Bit Part (uncredited)
1951
Film
Kiss Them for Me
Eddie Turnbill
1957
Film
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
1977
Film
A Gathering of Eagles
Gen. Hewitt
1963
Series
Wild Times
John Tyree
1980
Film
Dallas
U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
1950
Film
Star in the Dust
George Ballard
1956
Film
Tea and Sympathy
Bill Reynolds
1956
Film
Invaders from Mars
Mr. George MacLean
1953
Film
The Snake Pit
Gordon
1948
Film
Strait-Jacket
Bill Cutler
1964
Film
Arabian Nights
Kamar (as Leif Erikson)
1942
Film
The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping
William Henry Cameron
1973
Film
Trouble Along the Way
Father Provincial aka Ed
1953
Film
I Saw What You Did
Dave Mannering
1965
Film
Mirage
The Major
1965
Film
The Fleet's In
Jake
1942
Film
Waikiki Wedding
Dr. Victor Quimby
1937
Film
The Lady Gambles
Tony
1949
Film
Show Boat
Pete
1951
Film
Twilight for the Gods
Harry Hutton
1958
Film
Roustabout
Joe Lean
1964
Film
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
Morgan
1952
Film
The Tall Target
Stranger
1951
Film
Terror in the Sky
Marty Treleavan
1971
Film
Sailor Beware
Commander Lane
1952
Film
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Rodney 'Bo-Jo' Brown
1941
Film
The Carpetbaggers
Jonas Cord Sr.
1964
Film
Istanbul
Charlie Boyle
1957
Film
With a Song in My Heart
General (uncredited)
1952
Film
Wanderer of the Wasteland
Lawrence
1935
Film
My Wife's Best Friend
Nicholas Reed
1952
Film
Never Wave at a WAC
Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson
1953
Film
Nothing but the Truth
Tommy Van Dusen
1941
Film
Night Monster
Laurie
1942
Film
The Blonde from Singapore
Terry Prescott
1941
Film
The Gangster
Beaumont
1947
Film
Carbine Williams
Feder
1952
Film
Johnny Stool Pigeon
Pringle
1949
Film
Paris Model
Edgar Blevins
1953
Film
Miss Tatlock's Millions
Dr. Mason
1948
Film
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
Amos Wetherall
1972
Panic Button
Paul Henderson
1957
Film
The Cimarron Kid
Marshal John Sutton
1952
Film
Thrill of a Lifetime
Howard Nelson
1937
Film
The Big Broadcast of 1938
Bob Hayes
1938
Film
Shootout at Big Sag
Sam Barbee
1962
Film
Three Secrets
Bill Chase
1950
Film
Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration
Pilate
1951
Film
Mother Didn't Tell Me
Dr. Bruce Gordon
1950
Film
Ride a Crooked Mile
Johnny Simpkins
1938
Film
Once Upon a Horse...
Granville "Granny" Dix
1958
Film
Conquest
Paul Lachinski
1937
Film
Born to the Saddle
Bob Marshall
1953
Film
One Third of a Nation
Peter Cortlant
1939
The Shape of the River
William Dean Howells
1960
Film
Girl of the Ozarks
Tom Bolton
1936
Film
Pardon My Sarong
Whaba
1942
Film
The Fantastic Journey
Ben Wallace
1977
Film
Man and Boy
Sheriff Mossman
1971
Film
College Holiday
Dick Winters
1936
Film
The Deadly Dream
Dr. Harold Malcolm
1971
Film
The Showdown
Big Mart
1950
Film
Fort Algiers
Kalmani
1953
Film
Reunion in Reno
B. Frederick Linaker
1951
Film
Winterhawk
Guthrie
1975
Film
Stella
Fred Anderson Jr.
1950
Film
Blonde Savage
Steve Blake
1947
Film
The Gay Intruders
Dr. Harold Matson
1948
Film
The Vintage
Louis Morel
1957
Film
One Coat of White
Ben Riggs
1957
Film
Eagle Squadron
Johnny M. Coe
1942
Film
Desert Gold
Glenn Kasedon
1936
Film
The Family Rico
Mike Lamont
1972
Film
Abduction
Prescott
1975
Film
The New Healers
Dr. Victor Briggs
1972
Film
Captain Scarface
Sam
1953
Film
Drift Fence
Curley Prentice
1936
Film
Are Husbands Necessary?
Bill Stone
1942
Film
Force Five
Cal Newkirk
1975
Film
Nevada
Bill Ide
1935
Film
A Perilous Journey
Richards
1953
Film
Air Tonic
Band Singer
1933
Film
Crisis
Narrator (voice)
1939