Les Carson ( 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'', '' Black Christmas'', and ''

Videodrome ''Videodrome'' is a 1983 Canadian science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Debbie Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO of a small UHF televis ...

'', as well as the family film ''

A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on Jean Shepherd's semi-fictional anecdotes in his 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'', with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's ...

''. His television credits include ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' and ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

''. He was sometimes billed as "Les Carlson" and sometimes as "Leslie Carlson".

Early life

Born in the small

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

city of

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territ ...

, Carlson earned both a BFA and a MA from the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship uni ...

, 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 ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' is a play by David Mamet that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts ...

'', ''

Jekyll & Hyde (musical) ''Jekyll & Hyde'' is a 1990 musical theatre, musical loosely based on the 1886 novella ''The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. Originally conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden, it features mu ...

'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', ''Joggers'', ''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...

'' 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 ''

'' in 1983. Carlson appeared in four movies from director

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

, including ''

'' and '' The Dead Zone''. His TV appearances include ''

'', '' Friday the 13th: The Series'', ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...

'' and ''

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the '' CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created ...

''.

Personal life

Carlson was married to actress

Patricia Hamilton Patricia Hamilton (born 27 April 1937 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for playing Rachel Lynde in the television mini-series ''Anne of Green Gables'', its sequels: '' Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel'' ...

and they had one child together, actor

Ben Carlson Ben Carlson is a Canadian actor.

. He had another son, Edmund Carlson, with his second wife, Joan Warren, in 1988. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, aged 81."Leslie Merle CARLSON Obituary" (paid notice in the May 9 to May 10 issue of the ''Toronto Star''
, legacy.com. Accessed November 1, 2022.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Leslie 1933 births American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors 2014 deaths University of South Dakota alumni American expatriate male actors in Canada American expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from South Dakota People from Mitchell, South Dakota