Les Carlson

Leslie Merle Carlson (February 24, 1933 – May 3, 2014) was an American actor, who spent most of his professional life in Canada. He is known to film audiences for his work with directors David Cronenberg and Bob Clark, and was also a prolific stage actor. He was nominated for the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cronenberg's Videodrome (1983), and won a Dora Award for his performance in the Athol Fugard play Valley Song (1996).

Early life

Carlson was born in Mitchell, South Dakota, in 1933. He was a multi-sport athlete in his youth, playing football, basketball, and track and field. During the Korean War, he served in the United States Air Force. He earned both a BFA and a MA from the University of South Dakota, which he attended in the 1950s on the G.I. Bill.

Career

Carlson's acting career performing in several stage plays in both the U.S and England. He immigrated to Canada in the late 1960s and began acting in many films, TV shows, and stage productions 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 portrayal of the antagonist Barry Convex in Videodrome earned him a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His TV appearances include The X-Files, Friday the 13th: The Series, 21 Jump Street and Road to Avonlea.

His stage performances included the premiere of Leaving Home, A Walk in the Woods in 1991 at the Gateway Theatre, Death and the Maiden in 1993 with the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, the musical Jekyll & Hyde in 1996 for the Canadian Stage Company, Glengarry Glen Ross, Hamlet, and All My Sons. He played notable stints with the Tarragon Theatre, the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, and the Theatre Calgary.

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.

Death

Carlson died of cancer in Toronto, Ontario, aged 81, on 3 May 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

External links

• at IMDb