Editing Leif Erickson (actor) (section)

==Acting career==
[[File:Leif Erickson Yaphet Kotto The High Chaparral 1968.JPG|thumb|left|Erickson (left) alongside [[Yaphet Kotto]] in ''The High Chaparral'', perhaps his best-known television role]]
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 |website=[[Blockbuster (retailer)|Blockbuster]] |access-date=June 25, 2013 |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 }}</ref>

Among Erickson's more notable roles were as [[Deborah Kerr]]'s macho husband in the stage and film versions of ''[[Tea and Sympathy (play)|Tea and Sympathy]]'' and as [[Greta Garbo]]'s brother in ''[[Conquest (1937 film)|Conquest]]'' (1937). He also played the role of Pete, the vindictive boat engineer, in the 1951 [[Show Boat (1951 film)|remake]] of the famed musical ''[[Show Boat]]''. His final appearance in a feature film was in  ''[[Twilight's Last Gleaming]]'' (1977).

[[File:Leif Erickson Linda Cristal High Chaparral 1970.JPG|thumb|Erickson and [[Linda Cristal]] in ''The High Chaparral'']]
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.