# Leif Erickson (actor)
**Leif Erickson** (born William Wycliffe Anderson; October 27, 1911 – January 29, 1986) was an American stage, film, and television actor best known for playing the rancher Big John Cannon on the NBC Western series *The High Chaparral* (1967–1971). Over more than 40 years he appeared in dozens of films, including *On the Waterfront* (1954), *Show Boat* (1951), *The Snake Pit* (1948), and *Sorry, Wrong Number* (1948), and on Broadway in the original production of *Tea and Sympathy*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | October 27, 1911, Alameda, California, as William Wycliffe Anderson[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) |
| Died | January 29, 1986, Pensacola, Florida, aged 74, of cancer[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) • [3](https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1986/01/30/Actor-Leif-Erickson-star-of-televison-stage-and-screen/3663507445200/) |
| Signature role | Big John Cannon, head of a ranching family in *The High Chaparral*, NBC, 1967–1971[3](https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1986/01/30/Actor-Leif-Erickson-star-of-televison-stage-and-screen/3663507445200/) |
| Notable films | *On the Waterfront* (1954), *Show Boat* (1951), *The Snake Pit* (1948), *Sorry, Wrong Number* (1948), *Tea and Sympathy* (1956)[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) |
| Broadway | Bill Reynolds in *Tea and Sympathy*, original production, September 30, 1953 to June 18, 1955[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/leif-erickson-67440) |
| Wartime service | Four years in the United States Navy in World War II as a combat photographer; twice shot down while in aircraft, both times wounded[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) |
| Marriages | Frances Farmer (1936–1942), Margaret Hayes (1942), Annie Ruth Diamond (1945 until his death, two children)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) |
## Early life and music career
Erickson was born William Wycliffe Anderson in [Alameda, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/alameda-california), on October 27, 1911.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) His first love was music: he sang with the dance band of Ted Fio Rito during the 1930s and played trombone.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) It was Fio Rito who changed his name to the more memorable Leif Erickson.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) Sources differ on where he studied, with accounts naming the [University of California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california), UCLA, or the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california).[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) • [5](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2029206/biographies)
Before film he moved through stage work. He appeared in a [Max Reinhardt](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-reinhardt) production of Shakespeare's *A Midsummer Night's Dream* staged at the [Hollywood Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-bowl), his stage debut, and toured as a trombone player with the Olsen and Johnson *Hellzapoppin'* revue.[6](https://archives.stedwards.edu/digitalcollections/files/original/e6a0be43653e9d6bfa227eb741fa49d4.pdf)
## Film career
His screen debut came in *Wanderer of the Wasteland* in 1935, a Zane Grey Western in which he appeared in a bit part as a corpse; he then played leading roles alongside [Buster Crabbe](https://www.edgepedia.org/buster-crabbe) in a series of Zane Grey Westerns.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/leif-erickson/) The American Film Institute Catalog lists 74 titles in his filmography, from *The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi* (1933) through later work.[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/persondetails/96850)
**Intelligent second leads.** Erickson stood 6 feet 4½ inches tall, and contemporary commentary tied his Nordic looks to a career pattern: frequent casting as attractive but unexciting second leads and supporting parts.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/leif-erickson/) Among his films were *The Fleet's In* (1942), *Eagle Squadron* (1942), *The Snake Pit* (1948), *Sorry, Wrong Number* (1948), *Show Boat* (1951), *On the Waterfront* (1954), in which he played an investigator, and *Tea and Sympathy* (1956).[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/leif-erickson/) He was still working in films in the late 1970s, in *Winterhawk* (1975) and *Twilight's Last Gleaming* (1977).[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html)
He took a four-year break from acting for World War II, serving in the Navy as a combat photographer and, by his own account, being twice shot down while in aircraft and wounded both times.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/leif-erickson/) In 1967 he visited United States soldiers fighting in Vietnam.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/)
## Stage career
Erickson's Broadway record spans more than a decade of plays and musicals. He performed in the original productions of *All the Living* (1938), *Rocket to the Moon* (1938), *Margin for Error* (1939), *Higher and Higher* (1940, and its return engagement), *Retreat to Pleasure* (1940), *The Cream in the Well* (1941), and *The World of Carl Sandburg* (1960), and replaced an actor as Harold Goff in *The Gentle People* (1939).[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/leif-erickson-67440)
The most prominent of these was Robert Anderson's *Tea and Sympathy*, which ran on Broadway from September 30, 1953 to June 18, 1955, with Erickson as Bill Reynolds, the husband of [Deborah Kerr](https://www.edgepedia.org/deborah-kerr)'s character; the director was [Elia Kazan](https://www.edgepedia.org/elia-kazan).[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/leif-erickson-67440) • [9](https://playbill.com/production/tea-and-sympathy-ethel-barrymore-theatre-vault-0000004389) In 1953 Kazan called him to New York for the role, which Erickson repeated in the 1956 film.[6](https://archives.stedwards.edu/digitalcollections/files/original/e6a0be43653e9d6bfa227eb741fa49d4.pdf) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/leif-erickson-67440) In 1976 he toured with [Rock Hudson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rock-hudson) and Claire Trevor in a production of Stephen Vincent Benet's *John Brown's Body*, directed by John Houseman.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html)
## The High Chaparral and later television
Erickson's last major role was Big John Cannon, the headstrong rancher determined to build a cattle empire in the [Arizona Territory](https://www.edgepedia.org/arizona-territory) of the 1870s, in the NBC series *The High Chaparral*, which ran from 1967 to 1971.[3](https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1986/01/30/Actor-Leif-Erickson-star-of-televison-stage-and-screen/3663507445200/) IMDb credits him with 97 episodes as Big John Cannon.[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/) After the series ended he mainly played one-off guest parts on television through the 1970s, on shows including *Mannix*, *The Streets of San Francisco*, *The Rockford Files*, and *The Six Million Dollar Man*; his final appearance was a 1984 episode of *Fantasy Island*.[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/leif-erickson/) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/)
During the series' run he told an interviewer that pressure to eliminate violence on television was producing better scripts. "No longer," he said, "can we resolve a situation with a gunfight or banging someone over the head."[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html)
When roles became scarce in the mid-1960s he worked as a yacht broker at Marina Del Rey, California, and sailing remained his main pastime in semi-retirement.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html)
## Personal life
Erickson married three times. His first wife was the actress [Frances Farmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/frances-farmer), from February 8, 1936 until their divorce on June 12, 1942; on the same day he married the actress Margaret Hayes, a marriage that ended within months, a switch that drew contemporary notoriety.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/leif-erickson/) On December 24, 1945 he married Annie Ruth Diamond, with whom he had two children, William Leif Erickson (born 1946) and Susan Irene Erickson (born 1950); the marriage lasted until his death.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/) • [11](https://entertainment.ie/person/leif-erickson/) His son William was killed in a traffic accident in 1971.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html)
## Death
Erickson died on the evening of January 29, 1986, at Baptist Hospital in [Pensacola, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/pensacola-florida), after a struggle with cancer; his agent, Jimmy McHugh, identified the cause, while hospital officials did not release it.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html) • [3](https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1986/01/30/Actor-Leif-Erickson-star-of-televison-stage-and-screen/3663507445200/) He was 74. Services were private in Pensacola, and the family suggested contributions to the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html)
## References
1. [Leif Erickson – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/bio/)
2. [Leif Erickson, Veteran Actor, Dies at 74, Los Angeles Times, January 30, 1986](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-30-mn-2126-story.html)
3. [Actor Leif Erickson, star of television, stage and screen, dies, UPI, January 30, 1986](https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1986/01/30/Actor-Leif-Erickson-star-of-televison-stage-and-screen/3663507445200/)
4. [Leif Erickson – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/leif-erickson-67440)
5. [Biographies: Leif Erickson – Actor, elCinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2029206/biographies)
6. [Chapter 15, 1975 to 1976—Branching Out, St. Edward's University Archives](https://archives.stedwards.edu/digitalcollections/files/original/e6a0be43653e9d6bfa227eb741fa49d4.pdf)
7. [Leif Erickson – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/leif-erickson/)
8. [Leif Erickson, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/persondetails/96850)
9. [Tea and Sympathy, Broadway, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 1953, Playbill](https://playbill.com/production/tea-and-sympathy-ethel-barrymore-theatre-vault-0000004389)
10. [Leif Erickson (1911–1986), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002063/)
11. [Leif Erickson – About, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/person/leif-erickson/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames D to E*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license