Leif Erickson
Acting
Born: October 27, 1911 · Alameda, California, USA
Died: January 29, 1986 (aged 74)
Highest Rated
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
On the Waterfront
1954
Bonanza
1959
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Sorry, Wrong Number
1948
Invaders from Mars
1953
Strait-Jacket
1964
The Rockford Files
1974
The Snake Pit
1948
Mirage
1965
Gunsmoke
1955
Night Gallery
1970
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
Photos (4)
Movies (85)
On the Waterfront
Glover
Fourteen Hours
Bit Part (uncredited)
Sorry, Wrong Number
Fred Lord
Blonde Savage
Steve Blake
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
Roustabout
Joe Lean
Joan of Arc
Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
The Fastest Gun Alive
Lou Glover
Mirage
The Major
Show Boat
Pete
Dallas
U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
Invaders from Mars
Mr. George MacLean
A Gathering of Eagles
Gen. Hewitt
Trouble Along the Way
Father Provincial aka Ed
The New Healers
Dr. Victor Briggs
The Snake Pit
Gordon
Strait-Jacket
Bill Cutler
Tea and Sympathy
Bill Reynolds
The Carpetbaggers
Jonas Cord Sr.
Fort Algiers
Kalmani
The Lady Gambles
Tony
Arabian Nights
Kamar (as Leif Erikson)
Star in the Dust
George Ballard
Waikiki Wedding
Dr. Victor Quimby
The Blonde from Singapore
Terry Prescott
Paris Model
Edgar Blevins
Kiss Them for Me
Eddie Turnbill
I Saw What You Did
Dave Mannering
The Tall Target
Stranger
Conquest
Paul Lachinski
Sailor Beware
Commander Lane
Istanbul
Charlie Boyle
The Fantastic Journey
Ben Wallace
Three Secrets
Bill Chase
With a Song in My Heart
General (uncredited)
The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping
William Henry Cameron
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
Morgan
The Cimarron Kid
Marshal John Sutton
Nothing but the Truth
Tommy Van Dusen
Carbine Williams
Feder
Pardon My Sarong
Whaba
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Rodney 'Bo-Jo' Brown
The Gangster
Beaumont
My Wife's Best Friend
Nicholas Reed
Man and Boy
Sheriff Mossman
Night Monster
Laurie
Johnny Stool Pigeon
Pringle
The Fleet's In
Jake
The Big Broadcast of 1938
Bob Hayes
Captain Scarface
Sam
The Showdown
Big Mart
The Deadly Dream
Dr. Harold Malcolm
Girl of the Ozarks
Tom Bolton
Twilight for the Gods
Harry Hutton
Winterhawk
Guthrie
One Third of a Nation
Peter Cortlant
Miss Tatlock's Millions
Dr. Mason
Mother Didn't Tell Me
Dr. Bruce Gordon
Eagle Squadron
Johnny M. Coe
The Family Rico
Mike Lamont
Terror in the Sky
Marty Treleavan
A Perilous Journey
Richards
Ride a Crooked Mile
Johnny Simpkins
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
Amos Wetherall
One Coat of White
Ben Riggs
The Gay Intruders
Dr. Harold Matson
College Holiday
Dick Winters
The Vintage
Louis Morel
Abduction
Prescott
Reunion in Reno
B. Frederick Linaker
Are Husbands Necessary?
Bill Stone
Force Five
Cal Newkirk
Drift Fence
Curley Prentice
Never Wave at a WAC
Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson
Shootout at Big Sag
Sam Barbee
Desert Gold
Glenn Kasedon
Nevada
Bill Ide
Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration
Pilate
Once Upon a Horse...
Granville "Granny" Dix
Wanderer of the Wasteland
Lawrence
Stella
Fred Anderson Jr.
Thrill of a Lifetime
Howard Nelson
Crisis
Narrator (voice)
Air Tonic
Band Singer
Born to the Saddle
Bob Marshall
TV Shows (52)
Ironside
1 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Paul White · 1 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Doctor Hellyer · 1 eps
Bonanza
Tom Caine · 1 eps
Bonanza
Josh Tatum · 1 eps
The Rifleman
1 eps
The Rockford Files
Carl Colton 'C.C.' Calloway · 1 eps
Mannix
1 eps
The Virginian
Peterson · 1 eps
The Virginian
Charlie Ryan · 1 eps
The Virginian
Bill King · 1 eps
Climax!
Robert Eunson · 1 eps
Climax!
Richard Carmichael · 1 eps
Climax!
Doug Randell · 1 eps
Climax!
Richard Moore · 1 eps
Rawhide
Frank Travis · 1 eps
Daniel Boone
Aaron Burr · 1 eps
Daniel Boone
Bill Sedley · 1 eps
Cannon
1 eps
Matinee Theater
2 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
1 eps
Night Gallery
Charlie Wheatland · 2 eps
Gunsmoke
Virgil Powell · 1 eps
The High Chaparral
Big John Cannon · 98 eps
Burke's Law
Jason Hayes · 1 eps
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Wayne Phillips · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Jim Lewis · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Cash Wilson · 1 eps
Medical Center
1 eps
The Millionaire
Brian Hendricks · 1 eps
The Millionaire
Norman Conover · 1 eps
The Rebel
Dave Blaine · 1 eps
The Rookies
1 eps
Branded
1 eps
Kraft Suspense Theatre
General · 1 eps
Harry O
1 eps
The Fantastic Journey
Ben Wallace · 1 eps
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Andrew Middleton · 1 eps
The Mod Squad
1 eps
Arrest and Trial
1 eps
The Magician
Nicholas Olson · 1 eps
Inner Sanctum
1 eps
The New Breed
Dr. Eric Thor · 1 eps
The Great Adventure
Abel Parrish · 1 eps
The Great Adventure
President Grover Cleveland · 1 eps
The Sixth Sense
1 eps
Medical Story
Dr. Taussing · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
Man · 1 eps
The Evil Touch
1 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Dan · 1 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Sam Sargent · 1 eps
Wild Times
John Tyree · 2 eps
