John Ericson (born Joseph Meibes; September 25, 1926 – May 3, 2020) was a German-born American actor. He was known primarily for his television work, notably as private detective Sam Bolt on the ABC series ''
Honey West'' (1965–66), and his roles in several
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
films of the 1950s.
Early life
Ericson's parents were Ellen Wilson, a Swedish actress and operatic star, and Carl F. Meibes, who later became president of a New York food extract corporation.
The family went to the United States from Belgium when he was three.
Career
Ericson gained early acting experience with stock companies at the Gateway Theatre in
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and
Barter Theatre in
Abingdon, Virginia
Abingdon is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts a ...
.
He appeared on Broadway in the original 1951 production of ''
Stalag 17'', directed by
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hi ...
.

Ericson made a number of films for
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
in quick succession in the 1950s. His first appearance was in ''
Teresa
Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name.
It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Classical Greek, Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...
'' (1951), directed by
Fred Zinnemann
Alfred Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an American film director and producer. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thriller film, thrillers, western (genre), westerns, film ...
. He also appeared in ''
Rhapsody'', ''
The Student Prince
''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in a prologue and four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play ''Old Heidelberg (play), Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a scor ...
'', ''
Green Fire
''Green Fire'' is a 1954 American CinemaScope and Eastmancolor adventure film, adventure drama (film and television), drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Andrew Marton and produced by Armand Deutsch, with original musi ...
'' (all in 1954), and in ''
Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955). He co-starred with
Barbara Stanwyck in ''
Forty Guns'' (1957). In 1958 he appeared as Sheriff Barney Wiley in the Western ''
Day of the Badman'' which starred
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
.
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
''The Restless Gun'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne (actor), John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Ci ...
'' (1958) and ''
Target: The Corruptors!'' (1961). Ericson also guest starred twice on ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'': 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 on ''
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
Charles Arthur Floyd (February 3, 1904 – October 22, 1934), nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. He was s ...
'' (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
Ericson was engaged to
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, tw ...
in 1951. He married twice and had a son and a daughter from his first marriage to Milly Coury. He was married to his second wife Karen Huston Ericson for 46 years.
He died of pneumonia on May 3, 2020, aged 93.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ericson, John
1926 births
2020 deaths
German male film actors
German emigrants
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Male actors from New York (state)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Male Western (genre) film actors
Deaths from pneumonia in New Mexico
German people of Swedish descent
American people of German descent
American people of Swedish descent
Immigrants to the United States
Male actors from Düsseldorf