Leif Erickson
87 movies · 40 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Oct 27, 1911
- Died
- Jan 29, 1986 (age 74)
- Place of birth
- Alameda, California, USA
- Also known as
- Leif Erikson · Glenn Erickson · Glen Erickson · Glenn Erikson
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leif Erickson (born William Wycliffe Anderson) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Read the full biography
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
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Leif Erickson: movies and TV shows
Acting (127)
- 1980
- 1977 Twilight's Last Gleaming
as Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
- 1977 The Fantastic Journey
as Ben Wallace
- 1977
- 1975 Winterhawk
as Guthrie
- 1975
- 1975 Abduction
as Prescott
- 1975 Force Five
as Cal Newkirk
- 1974
- 1974
- 1973 The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping
as William Henry Cameron
- 1973
- 1973
- 1972
- 1972 The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
as Amos Wetherall
- 1972 The Family Rico
as Mike Lamont
- 1972
- 1972 The New Healers
as Dr. Victor Briggs
- 1972
- 1971 The Deadly Dream
as Dr. Harold Malcolm
- 1971 Terror in the Sky
as Marty Treleavan
- 1971
- 1971 Man and Boy
as Sheriff Mossman
- 1970
- 1969
- 1968
- 1967
- 1967
- 1967
- 1965 Mirage
as The Major
- 1965 I Saw What You Did
as Dave Mannering
- 1965
- 1964 Roustabout
as Joe Lean
- 1964
- 1964 The Carpetbaggers
as Jonas Cord Sr.
- 1964 Strait-Jacket
as Bill Cutler
- 1963
- 1963
- 1963
- 1963
- 1963 A Gathering of Eagles
as Gen. Hewitt
- 1962
- 1962
- 1962 Shootout at Big Sag
as Sam Barbee
- 1961
- 1960 The Shape of the River
as William Dean Howells
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959
- 1958
- 1958 Once Upon a Horse...
as Granville "Granny" Dix
- 1958 Twilight for the Gods
as Harry Hutton
- 1957 Kiss Them for Me
as Eddie Turnbill
- 1957 Panic Button
as Paul Henderson
- 1957 The Vintage
as Louis Morel
- 1957 One Coat of White
as Ben Riggs
- 1957 Istanbul
as Charlie Boyle
- 1956
- 1956 Tea and Sympathy
as Bill Reynolds
- 1956 The Fastest Gun Alive
as Lou Glover
- 1956 Star in the Dust
as George Ballard
- 1955
- 1955
- 1955
- 1955
- 1954
- 1954 On the Waterfront
as Glover
- 1954
- 1953 Paris Model
as Edgar Blevins
- 1953 Captain Scarface
as Sam
- 1953 Fort Algiers
as Kalmani
- 1953 Invaders from Mars
as Mr. George MacLean
- 1953 A Perilous Journey
as Richards
- 1953 Trouble Along the Way
as Father Provincial aka Ed
- 1953 Born to the Saddle
as Bob Marshall
- 1953
- 1953 Never Wave at a WAC
as Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson
- 1952 Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
as Morgan
- 1952 My Wife's Best Friend
as Nicholas Reed
- 1952 Carbine Williams
as Feder
- 1952 With a Song in My Heart
as General (uncredited)
- 1952 Sailor Beware
as Commander Lane
- 1952 The Cimarron Kid
as Marshal John Sutton
- 1951 Reunion in Reno
as B. Frederick Linaker
- 1951
- 1951 The Tall Target
as Stranger
- 1951 Show Boat
as Pete
- 1951 Fourteen Hours
as Bit Part (uncredited)
- 1951
- 1950 Dallas
as U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
- 1950 Three Secrets
as Bill Chase
- 1950 The Showdown
as Big Mart
- 1950 Stella
as Fred Anderson Jr.
- 1950 Mother Didn't Tell Me
as Dr. Bruce Gordon
- 1949 The Lady Gambles
as Tony
- 1949 Johnny Stool Pigeon
as Pringle
- 1948 Joan of Arc
as Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
- 1948 Miss Tatlock's Millions
as Dr. Mason
- 1948 The Snake Pit
as Gordon
- 1948 Sorry, Wrong Number
as Fred Lord
- 1948 The Gay Intruders
as Dr. Harold Matson
- 1947 The Gangster
as Beaumont
- 1947 Blonde Savage
as Steve Blake
- 1942 Arabian Nights
as Kamar (as Leif Erikson)
- 1942 Night Monster
as Laurie
- 1942 Pardon My Sarong
as Whaba
- 1942 Eagle Squadron
as Johnny M. Coe
- 1942 Are Husbands Necessary?
as Bill Stone
- 1942 The Fleet's In
as Jake
- 1941 H.M. Pulham, Esq.
as Rodney 'Bo-Jo' Brown
- 1941 The Blonde from Singapore
as Terry Prescott
- 1941 Nothing but the Truth
as Tommy Van Dusen
- 1939 Crisis
as Narrator (voice)
- 1939 One Third of a Nation
as Peter Cortlant
- 1938 Ride a Crooked Mile
as Johnny Simpkins
- 1938 The Big Broadcast of 1938
as Bob Hayes
- 1937 Thrill of a Lifetime
as Howard Nelson
- 1937 Conquest
as Paul Lachinski
- 1937 Waikiki Wedding
as Dr. Victor Quimby
- 1936 College Holiday
as Dick Winters
- 1936 Girl of the Ozarks
as Tom Bolton
- 1936 Desert Gold
as Glenn Kasedon
- 1936 Drift Fence
as Curley Prentice
- 1935 Nevada
as Bill Ide
- 1935 Wanderer of the Wasteland
as Lawrence
- 1933 Air Tonic
as Band Singer
Talk shows and appearances (2)
- 1963 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
2 episodes
- 1948 Bambi
1 episode