Leif Erickson

Leif Erickson (74)

1911-10-27 - 1986-01-29 | Alameda, California, USA

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

On Movies

  • Twilight's Last Gleaming
  • The Fantastic Journey
  • Winterhawk
  • Abduction
  • The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping
  • The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
  • The Family Rico
  • The New Healers
  • The Deadly Dream
  • Terror in the Sky
  • Man and Boy
  • Mirage
  • I Saw What You Did
  • Roustabout
  • The Carpetbaggers
  • Strait-Jacket
  • A Gathering of Eagles
  • Shootout at Big Sag
  • Once Upon a Horse...
  • Twilight for the Gods
  • Kiss Them for Me
  • The Vintage
  • Istanbul
  • Tea and Sympathy
  • The Fastest Gun Alive
  • Star in the Dust
  • On the Waterfront
  • Paris Model
  • Captain Scarface
  • Fort Algiers
  • Invaders from Mars
  • A Perilous Journey
  • Trouble Along the Way
  • Born to the Saddle
  • Never Wave at a WAC
  • Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
  • My Wife's Best Friend
  • Carbine Williams
  • With a Song in My Heart
  • Sailor Beware
  • The Cimarron Kid
  • Reunion in Reno
  • The Tall Target
  • Show Boat
  • Fourteen Hours
  • Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration
  • Dallas
  • Three Secrets
  • The Showdown
  • Stella
  • Mother Didn't Tell Me
  • The Lady Gambles
  • Johnny Stool Pigeon
  • Joan of Arc
  • Miss Tatlock's Millions
  • The Snake Pit
  • Sorry, Wrong Number
  • The Gay Intruders
  • The Gangster
  • Blonde Savage
  • Arabian Nights
  • Night Monster
  • Pardon My Sarong
  • Eagle Squadron
  • Are Husbands Necessary?
  • The Fleet's In
  • H.M. Pulham, Esq.
  • The Blonde from Singapore
  • Nothing But the Truth
  • One Third of a Nation
  • Ride a Crooked Mile
  • The Big Broadcast of 1938
  • Thrill of a Lifetime
  • Conquest
  • Waikiki Wedding
  • College Holiday
  • Girl of the Ozarks
  • Desert Gold
  • Drift Fence
  • Nevada
  • Wanderer of the Wasteland
  • Air Tonic

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