Television acting was ''hard work'' according to The High Chaparral's Leif Erickson
If you've ever thought acting was easy, think again. It takes skill to remember lines and deliver them believably, so it doesn't look like acting. Anyone can sit in front of a camera and recite lines, but true actors live with their characters on screen. And yes, there's a huge difference.
We all know that back in the day, there was a clear line between television actors and movie actors. Film actors often got better treatment in the industry and saw television as a screen too small for their talent. That changed when their contracts ended, and more roles became available on TV than in movies. Leif Erickson, who played Big John Cannon in The High Chaparral, worked in both.
Throughout his career, he appeared in movies like Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952), Strait-Jacket (1964), and Invaders from Mars (1953), but many know him from the Western series. Erickson thought TV acting was harder.
In a 1970 interview with The Columbus Ledger, the actor said he worked 12 hours a day, nine months a year. He believed the show would last another five or six years because it was shown in 56 countries at the time.
"If High Chaparral lasts as long as Bonanza, I'll be too old to get off the horse," said Erickson. Unfortunately, it ended in 1971, after four seasons and 98 episodes.