Biography
Leif Erickson (born William Wycliffe Anderson) was an American stage, film and television actor. He was born on 27 October 1911 in Alameda, California, and died on 29 January 1986 in Pensacola, Florida.
Erickson began his career as a band vocalist and trombone player before appearing in Max Reinhardt productions and vaudeville. Initially billed as Glenn Erickson, he started in Westerns, including films with Buster Crabbe. During the Second World War he served in the US Navy as a photographer in the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit, rising to Chief Petty Officer; he was shot down twice and received two Purple Hearts.
His film roles include Glover in On the Waterfront (1954), Pete in Show Boat (1951) and Bill Reynolds in the film version of Tea and Sympathy (1956), a part he had played on stage. He is also known for portraying Big John Cannon in the television series The High Chaparral (1967–1971) and for appearances in The Snake Pit (1948), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) and Invaders from Mars (1953).
