Leif Erickson (actor)

Leif Erickson was an American stage, film, and television actor.

Early life

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.

Military service

Erickson enlisted in the U.S. 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, and received two Purple Hearts. Erickson was in the unit that filmed and photographed the Japanese surrender aboard the in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

Acting career

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 went on to appear 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.
Among Erickson's more notable roles were as Deborah Kerr's macho husband in the stage and film versions of Tea and Sympathy and as Greta Garbo's brother in Conquest. He also 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.
Erickson appeared frequently on television; he was cast as Dr. Hillyer in "Consider Her Ways" and as Paul White in "The Monkey's Paw—A Retelling" on CBS's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He is probably best known, however, 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 Colgate Theatre, Rawhide; Bonanza ; as Aaron Burr in Daniel Boone ; Gunsmoke; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Medical Center; Longstreet; Cannon; The Rifleman; The Rockford Files; The Rookies; Night Gallery; and the 1977 series Hunter. His final role was in an episode of Fantasy Island in 1984.

Death

Erickson died of cancer in Pensacola, Florida, on January 29, 1986, aged 74.

Selected filmography

The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi as Band Singer with Ted Fio RitoWanderer of the Wasteland as LawrenceNevada as Bill IdeDrift Fence as Curley PrentissDesert Gold as Glenn KasedonGirl of the Ozarks as Tom BoltonCollege Holiday as Dick WintersWaikiki Wedding as Dr. Victor QuimbyConquest as Paul LachinskiThrill of a Lifetime as Howard 'Howdy' NelsonThe Big Broadcast of 1938 as Bob HayesRide a Crooked Mile as Johnny Simpkins...One Third of a Nation... as Peter CortlantNothing but the Truth as Tommy Van DusenThe Blonde from Singapore as Terry PrescottH. M. Pulham, Esq. as Rodney 'Bo-Jo' BrownThe Fleet's In as JakeAre Husbands Necessary? as Bill StoneEagle Squadron as Johnny M. CoePardon My Sarong as WhabaNight Monster as LaurieArabian Nights as KamarBlonde Savage as Steve BlakeThe Gangster as BeaumontSorry, Wrong Number as Fred LordThe Gay Intruders as Dr. Harold MatsonThe Snake Pit as GordonJoan of Arc as Dunois, Bastard of OrleansMiss Tatlock's Millions as Dr. MasonThe Lady Gambles as TonyJohnny Stool Pigeon as PringleMother Didn't Tell Me as Dr. Bruce GordonLove That Brute as Elmdale Military Academy Captain Stella as Fred Anderson Jr.The Showdown as Big MartThree Secrets as Bill ChaseDallas as U.S. Marshal Martin WeatherbyFourteen Hours as Bit Part Show Boat as PeteThe Tall Target as StrangerReunion in Reno as B. Frederick LinakerThe Cimarron Kid as Marshal John SuttonSailor Beware as Commander LaneWith a Song in My Heart as General Carbine Williams as FederMy Wife's Best Friend as Nicholas ReedAbbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd as MorganNever Wave at a WAC as Sergeant Norbert 'Noisy' JacksonBorn to the Saddle as Bob MarshallTrouble Along the Way as Father Provincial aka EdTrial at Tara as King LaeraA Perilous Journey as RichardsInvaders from Mars as Mr. George MacLeanFort Algiers as KalmaniCaptain Scarface as SamParis Model as Edgar BlevinsOn the Waterfront as Glover, Lead Investigator for Crime CommissionStar in the Dust as George BallardThe Fastest Gun Alive as Lou GloverTea and Sympathy as Bill ReynoldsIstanbul as Charlie BoyleThe Vintage as Louis MorelKiss Them for Me as Eddie TurnbillTwilight for the Gods as Harry HuttonOnce Upon a Horse... as Granville 'Granny' DixShoot Out at Big Sag as Sam BarbeeA Gathering of Eagles as General HewittStrait-Jacket as Bill CutlerThe Carpetbaggers as Jonas Cord Sr.Roustabout as Joe LeanMirage as Major Crawford GilcuddyI Saw What You Did as Dave ManneringMan and Boy as MossmanTerror in the Sky as Marty TreleavanThe Mod Squad as Lieutenant Jerry PriceNight Gallery as Charlie WheatlandAbduction as PrescottWinterhawk as GuthrieTwilight's Last Gleaming as Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Wayne Phillips	Season 3 Episode 19: "The Equalizer"
1959	Rawhide	Jeremiah Walsh	S2:E6, "Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse"
1961	Rawhide	Frank Travis	S3:E19, "Incident Near Gloomy River"
1963	Hazel	Zachary King	S3:E11, "The Vanishing Hero"
1963	Arrest and Trial	Mort Vallos	Season 1 Episode 7: "Whose Little Girl Are You?"
1964	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Dr. John S. Hellyer	Season 3 Episode 11: "Consider Her Ways"
1965	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Paul White	Season 3 Episode 26: "The Monkey's Paw - A Retelling"
1965	Daniel Boone	Aaron Burr	S2:E7, "The Aaron Burr Story"
1966	Branded	Roy Beckwith	S2:E22 "Barbed Wire"
1967–1971	The High Chaparral	Big John Cannon	98 episodes
1973	The Streets of San Francisco	Fr. Henry Driscoll	S2:E3, "For the Love of God"