Leslie Carlson

Leslie Merle Carlson (February 24, 1933 – May 3, 2014) was an American Canadian film and television character actor who acted on stage in Canada, the U.S. and England. His films include the horror films Deranged and Black Christmas, and his television credits include The Twilight Zone and The X-Files. His stage name was frequently billed as Les Carlson.

Leslie Carlson
Born	Leslie Merle Carlson February 24, 1933 Mitchell, South Dakota, U.S.
Died	May 3, 2014 (aged 81) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Other names	Lesley Carlson Les Carson
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1967–2010
Spouse(s)	Patricia Hamilton (divorced) Joan Warren (1983–2014; his death)
Children	Ben Carlson Edmund Carlson

Early life

Born in the small South Dakota city of Mitchell, Carlson earned both a BFA and an MA from the University of South Dakota,[1] which he attended in the 1950s and began his acting career performing in several stage plays in both the U.S and England.

Career

His performances include A Walk in the Woods in 1991 at the Gateway Theatre and Glengarry Glen Ross, Jekyll & Hyde (musical), Hamlet, Joggers, All My Sons, and Death and the Maiden. He immigrated to Canada in the late 1960s and began acting in many films and TV shows in the early '70s. His most memorable film roles were in the horror classic Black Christmas and Deranged, both in 1974, and as a pushy Christmas tree salesman in A Christmas Story in 1983. Carlson appeared in four movies from director David Cronenberg, including Videodrome and The Dead Zone. His TV appearances include The X-Files, Friday the 13th: The Series, 21 Jump Street and Road to Avonlea.[2]

Personal life

Carlson was married to actress Patricia Hamilton, and they had one child together, actor Ben Carlson. He had another son, Edmund Carlson, with his second wife, Joan Warren, in 1988.[3] He died of cancer in Toronto, Ontario.[4]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Norman Corwin Presents		1 episode - Letters from an Only Child
1973	The Neptune Factor	Brigs, Triton Radioman	other title - The Neptune Disaster
	The Hard Part Begins	Mechanic	(credited as Les Carlson)
1974	Deedee		Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
	Deranged	Tom Sims	other title - Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile
	Black Christmas	Bill	other titles - Silent Night, Evil Night, Stranger in the House
1975	King of Kensington		1 episode - Where's Cathy?
1976	Shoot	Jim	(credited as Les Carlson)
1977	I Wasn't Scared	Master Warrant Officer George Lewinsky	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Raku Fire		(credited as Les Carlson)
	Love at First Sight	Stu	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Deadly Harvest	The Minister	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Custard Pie	Aldo Ludwit	(credited as Les Carlson) (unknown episodes)
	Who Has Seen the Wind	Joe Pivotte	(credited as Les Carlson)
	The New Avengers	Douglas Collings	1 episode - Emily
1978	High-Ballin'	Bud	(credited as Les Carlson)
1979	Lost and Found	Jean-Paul
1980	Circle of Two	Doctor at the Hospital	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Nothing Personal	Marshal #2
1981	Mr. Patman	Mr. Abernathy	other title - Crossover (credited as Les Carlson)
	Improper Channels		(credited as Les Carlson)
	Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper	Laingen	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
1982	Shocktrauma	Elton Bates	Television Film (credited as Les Carlson)
1983	The Littlest Hobo		2 episodes - Forget Me Not, Trucker (1982–1983)
	Videodrome	Barry Convex	(credited as Les Carlson)
	The Dead Zone	Brenner	(credited as Les Carlson)
	A Christmas Story	Tree Man	(credited as Les Carlson)
1984	That's My Baby	Max	(credited as Les Carlson)
1985	Night Heat	Harder	1 episode - Ancient Madness
1986	The Fly	Dr. Brent Cheevers
	The Laurenceville Stories	Conover	TV mini-series
	Unnatural Causes	Bob	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
1987	American Playhouse	Conover	1 episode - The Prodigious Hickey
	Smart Street	Marty	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel	Mr. Marty Charles Lawson	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
	Rolling Vengeance	Misty's Father	(credited as Les Carlson)
1988	War of the Worlds	Detective #1	1 episode - The Walls of Jericho
	The Twilight Zone	Jim Hilsen	1 episode - The Hunters (credited as Les Carlson)
1989	Looking for Miracles	Principal	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
	Sing	Suit	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Friday the 13th: The Series	Arkwright	1 episode - The Prisoner
	Street Legal	Squire/Michael	2 episodes - Romeo and Carol, See No Evil (1987–1989)
1990	Scales of Justice	Larry Proke	1 episode - Regina vs Horvath (credited as Les Carlson)
	Mom P.I.		1 episode - Looking for a Living
	Neon Rider	Brent Paxton	1 episode - All's Fair
	MacGyver	Sparky Doctor	2 episodes - Ma Dalton, Passages (credited as Les Carlson)
	21 Jump Street	Professor Gray	1 episode - Diplomats for Sale
	Chaindance	Willy	other title - Common Bonds
1991	Road to Avonlea	Mr Lawson	7 episodes - The Story Girl Earns Her Name, The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's, The Materializing of Duncan McTavish, Aunt Abigail's Beau, Malcolm and the Baby, Sara's Homecoming, Dreamer of Dreams (1990–1991) (credited as Les Carlson)
	The Girl from Mars	Mr. Sharbut	Television film
	K2	Dexter
1992	Impolite	Billy
	Highlander: The Series	Sam Thompson	2 episodes - Free Fall, Deadly Medicine
	To Grandmother's House We Go	Doorman	Television film
	Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster	Theo Polasek	Television film
1993	Morning Glory	Howard Pride	Television film
	A Stranger in the Mirror	Harry Durkin	Television film
	No Child of Mine		Television film
1994	The X-Files	Dr. Spitz Dr. Troisky	2 episodes - "Born Again", "Little Green Men"
1995	Young Again	Mr. Dillon	(credited as Les Carlson)
	The Song Spinner	Lorie	Television film
1996	Moonshine Highway	Pappy	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
	Side Effects	Dr. Herschel Eisen	1 episode - You Can Run
	Beyond the Call	Dan	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
1997	Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal	Dr. Dale Hoff	1 episode - Donor
1999	The Wishing Tree	Professor
2000	Camera	The Actor	Short film
	Silver Man	Mule
	The Spreading Ground	Magyar	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Catch a Falling Star	Man at Station	Television film
	The Harlan County War	Udell	Television film
	The Last Debate	Pat Tubbs	Television film
2001	Haven	Old Man	TV mini-series
	Bailey's Mistake	Stableman	Television film
	Short6	The Actor
	Stolen Miracle	Mr. Neelandson	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
2002	Odyssey 5	Ruckner	1 episode - Astronaut Dreams
	Tribulation Force	Witness Eli	other title - Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (credited as Les Carlson)
2003	The Berenstain Bears	Gramps	1 episode - Trouble with Grown-ups/Too Much TV (credited as Lesley Carlson)
2004	Anonymous Rex		Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
	Snow	Chester	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
2005	Looking for Angelina	Justice Britton	(credited as Les Carlson)
	Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye	Mr. Weaver	1 episode - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
	Plague City: SARS in Toronto		Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
2007	Your Beautiful Cul de Sac Home	Harry Peale
2010	At Risk	George Finlay	Television film (credited as Les Carlson)
	Haven	Vaughn Carpenter	1 episode - "As You Were"

References

1. "University of South Dakota". usd.edu. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
2. "Leslie Carlson Biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
3. Obituary: Leading man Leslie Carlson left his heart with the theatre The Globe and Mail, 12 June 2014
4. "Leslie Merle CARLSON Obituary" (paid notice in the May 9 to May 10 issue of Toronto Star)

External links

• Leslie Carlson at IMDb