John Ericson

John Ericson (sometimes spelled Erickson; born Joachim Alexander Ottokar Meibes; September 25, 1926 – May 3, 2020) was a German-American film and television actor.

John Ericson
Ericson in The Student Prince (1954)
Born	Joachim Alexander Ottokar Meibes September 25, 1926 Düsseldorf, Free State of Prussia, Germany
Died	May 3, 2020 (aged 93) Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
Resting place	Santa Fe National Cemetery
Alma mater	American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–2008
Spouse(s)	Milly Coury ​ ​ (m. 1953; div. 1971)​ Karen Huston ​ (m. 1974)​
Children	2

Early life

Ericson was born Joachim Alexander Ottokar Meibes in Düsseldorf, Germany.[1] His parents, Ellen Wilson, an actress and operatic star, and Carl F. Meibes, who later became president of a New York food extract corporation,[2] left Germany, reportedly to escape the rising Nazi regime, and came to the United States.[2] Ericson trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in the same class as Grace Kelly, Jack Palance and Don Rickles.

Career

Ericson gained early acting experience with stock companies at the Gateway Theatre in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia.[2] He appeared on Broadway in the original 1951 production of Stalag 17, directed by José Ferrer.[3]

Ericson made a number of films for MGM in quick succession in the 1950s. His first appearance was in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. He also appeared in Rhapsody, The Student Prince, Green Fire (all in 1954), and in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). He co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck in Forty Guns (1957).[4] 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 (which aired on January 1, 1956). He made guest appearances in The Restless Gun (1958) and Target: The Corruptors! (1961). 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. (He and Francis had played brother and sister in Bad Day at Black Rock.) In 1971, he appeared as Jack Bonham on The Men From Shiloh in the episode "The Political".

He played the title role in Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), and his other film appearances included roles in Under Ten Flags (1960), Slave Queen of Babylon (1963), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), Operation Atlantis (1965), The Money Jungle (1968), The Bamboo Saucer (1968), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Crash! (1976), and The Far Side of Jericho (2006).

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.[3]

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	Teresa	Philip Cass
1951	It's a Big Country	Naval Ensign	Uncredited
1954	Rhapsody	James Guest
1954	The Student Prince	Count Von Asterburg
1954	Green Fire	Donald Knowland
1955	Bad Day at Black Rock	Pete Wirth
1955	The Return of Jack Slade	Jack Slade, Jr.
1956	The Cruel Tower	Tom Kittredge
1957	Forty Guns	Brockie Drummond
1957	Oregon Passage	Lt. Niles Ord
1958	Day of the Badman	Sheriff Barney Wiley
1960	Pretty Boy Floyd	Charles Arthur 'Pretty Boy' Floyd
1960	Under Ten Flags	Krüger
1963	Slave Queen of Babylon	Kir
1964	7 Faces of Dr. Lao	Ed Cunningham / Transformed Pan
1965	Operation Atlantis	George Steele
1967	The Vengeance of Pancho Villa	Don Diego Alvarado / Diego Owens
1967	The Money Jungle	Blake Heller
1968	The Destructors	Dutch Holland
1968	The Bamboo Saucer	Fred Norwood
1969	Black Talisman	Will Hunter
1971	Bedknobs and Broomsticks	Col. Heller
1975	Kumander Agimat
1975	Hustler Squad	Maj. Stonewell / Stony
1976	Crash!	Dr. Gregg Martin
1978	The House of the Dead	Talmudge
1984	Final Mission	Colonel Joshua Cain
1989	Primary Target	Phil Karlson
2006	The Far Side of Jericho	Charlie

References

1. "When Hollywood was "Golden"". Facebook.
2. "John Ericson Scored Hit With Audience At Movie Premier". The Kingston Daily Freeman. New York, Kingston. January 18, 1955. p. 11. Retrieved January 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Barnes, Mike. "John Ericson, Actor in 'Honey West,' Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
4. Hanson, Andrew (July 6, 2010). "John Ericson profile". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2013.

External links

• John Ericson at IMDb
• John Ericson at the Internet Broadway Database