John Ericson


John Ericson was a German-American film and television actor.

Early life

Ericson was born Joachim Alexander Ottokar Meibes in Düsseldorf, Germany. His parents, Ellen, an actress and operatic star, and Carl F. Meibes, who later became president of a New York food extract corporation, left Germany, reportedly to escape the rising Nazi regime, and came to the United States. Ericson trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in the same class as Grace Kelly, Jack Palance and Don Rickles, and he appeared on Broadway in the original 1951 production of Stalag 17, directed by José Ferrer.

Career

Ericson made a number of films for MGM in quick succession in the 1950s. His first appearance was in Teresa, directed by Fred Zinnemann. He appeared in a series of films which included Rhapsody, The Student Prince, Green Fire, and in Bad Day at Black Rock. He co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck in Forty Guns. In 1958 he appeared as Sheriff Barney Wiley in the western Day of the Badman which starred Fred MacMurray.  
For the next 30 years, his career continued mostly on television. He appeared in the lead role in "The Peter Bartley Story" of the CBS drama The Millionaire. He appeared with Dorothy Malone in the episode "Mutiny" of CBS's Appointment with Adventure. He made guest appearances in The Restless Gun and '. Ericson also guest starred twice on Bonanza: he played Vince Dagen in the 1960 episode "Breed of Violence" and he portrayed Wade Hollister in the 1967 episode "Journey to Terror". From 1965 to 1966, he co-starred as the partner of Anne Francis in Honey West. In 1971, he appeared as Jack Bonham on "The Men From Shiloh" in the episode titled "The Political".
He played the title role in Pretty Boy Floyd, and his other film appearances included roles in Under Ten Flags, Slave Queen of Babylon, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, ', The Money Jungle, The Bamboo Saucer, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Crash!, and The Far Side of Jericho.

Personal life and death

He was married twice and had two children from his first marriage to Milly Coury. He was married to his second wife Karen Huston Ericson for over 45 years. He died of pneumonia on May 3, 2020, aged 93.

Filmography