Leif Erickson (actor): Difference between revisions

{{short description|American stage, film, and television actor (1911-1986)}}

{{about|the 20th-century American actor|the 11th-century Viking explorer|Leif Erikson|the politician|Leif Erickson (politician)}}

| rank = {{Dodseal|USNE9|25}} [[Chief petty officer (United States)|Chief petty officer]]<ref name="MilitaryLeif">{{cite web|url=https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=606570|title=Erickson, Leif, AFC |publisher=www.navy.togetherweserved.com|access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref>

Erickson was born in [[Alameda, California]],<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[United Press International]] |date=1986-01-31 |title=Leif Erickson Is Dead; A Movie and TV Actor |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/31/obituaries/leif-erickson-is-dead-a-movie-and-tv-actor.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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 [[Western (genre)|Westerns]].<ref name="MilitaryLeif"/>

Erickson enlisted in the [[United States Navy|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 [[War photography|military photographer]], shooting film in combat zones, and as an instructor.<ref{{Citation nameneeded |date="MilitaryLeif"/>September 2023}} He was shot down twice in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]], and received two [[Purple Heart]]s.<ref name=leifnavy>{{cite web |title=The Day Leif Erickson Faced Death |publisherwebsite=The High Chaparral |url=http://www.thehighchaparral.com/articles1b.htm |access-date=September 23, 2011}}</ref> Erickson was in the unit that filmed and photographed the [[Surrender of Japan|Japanese surrender]] aboard the {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} in [[Tokyo Bay]] on September 2, 1945.<ref name="MilitaryLeif"/> Over four years service, he shot more than {{Convert|200,000|ft|m}} of film for the Navy.<ref name="MilitaryLeif"/>

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 (1953 film)|Invaders from Mars]]'',; ''[[On the Waterfront]]'',; ''[[A Gathering of Eagles]]'',; ''[[Roustabout (film)|Roustabout]]'',; ''[[The Carpetbaggers (film)|The Carpetbaggers]]'',; and ''[[Mirage (1965 film)|Mirage]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/personDetails/19377?pg.1.page=2&pg.1.pageSize=25 |title=Profile |publisherwebsite=[[Blockbuster.com (retailer)|Blockbuster]] |access-date=2013-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002233244/http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/personDetails/19377?pg.1.page=2&pg.1.pageSize=25 |archive-date=October 2, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

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]]''. 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 (1958 TV series)|Colgate Theatre]]'', ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'',; ''[[Bonanza]]'' (two episodes, 1961–1965),; as Aaron Burr in ''[[Daniel Boone]]'' (two episodes, 1964–1970); ''[[Gunsmoke]]'',; ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]'',; ''[[Medical Center (TV series)|Medical Center]]'',; ''[[Longstreet (TV series)|Longstreet]]''; ''[[Cannon (TV series)|Cannon]]'',; ''[[The Rifleman]]'',; ''[[The Rockford Files]]'',; ''[[The Rookies]]'',; ''[[Night Gallery]]'',; and the 1977 series ''[[Hunter (U.S. 1977 TV series)|Hunter]]''. His final role was in an episode of ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' in 1984.<ref name=leifLast>{{cite web|title=Fantasy Island - Goin' on Home/Ambitious Lady|publisher=IMDB|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0577741/|access-date=May 19, 2016}}</ref>

Erickson died of cancer in [[Pensacola, Florida]], on January 29, 1986, aged 74.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehighchaparral.com/filmogerickson.htm |title=Profile |publisherwebsite=Thehighchaparral.comThe High Chaparral |access-date=2013-06-25}}</ref>

* ''[[Sailor Beware (1952 film)|Sailor Beware]]'' (1952) as Cmdr.Commander Lane

* ''[[Never Wave at a WAC]]'' (1953) as Sgt.Sergeant Norbert 'Noisy' Jackson

* ''[[Trial Atat Tara]]'' (1953) as King Laera

* ''[[Shoot Out at Big Sag]]'' (1962) as Sam Barbee

* ''[[A Gathering of Eagles]]'' (1963) as Gen.General Hewitt

* ''[[The Mod Squad]]'' (1972) as Lt.Lieutenant Jerry Price

{{Portal bar|Biography|California|Florida|Film|Music|Television|Theatre|World War II}}