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Leslie Carlson, an outstanding, prolific, and versatile character actor, was born on February 24, 1933, in Mitchell, South Dakota. He earned both a BFA and an MA from the University of South Dakota during the 1950s. Carlson launched his acting career with numerous stage performances in the United States and England. In the late 1960s, he moved to Canada and began appearing in numerous films and television shows throughout the early 1970s. His most notable film roles include the helpful police officer Graham in the chilling seasonal slasher Black Christmas (1974), the uptight newspaper reporter Tom Sims in the eerie Deranged (1974), security expert Jim in Shoot (1976), the bumbling drunk Bud in High-Ballin' (1978), and a persistent Christmas tree salesman in the beloved A Christmas Story (1983).
Carlson collaborated with renowned director David Cronenberg on four films. He delivered a memorably slimy performance as the sinister corporate sleazeball Barry Convex in Videodrome (1983), earning a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and also appeared in The Dead Zone (1983), The Fly (1986), and the quirky short film Camera (2000). His television guest appearances included roles on Avonlea (1990), The X-Files (1993), Highlander (1992), Friday the 13th: The Series (1987), 21 Jump Street (1987), MacGyver (1985), The Twilight Zone (1985), and The New Avengers (1976).
Beyond film and TV, Carlson had a rich stage career spanning decades, performing in plays such as Homecoming, Our Town, A Lie of the Mind— for which he received a Jessie Richardson Award nomination in 1989— A Walk in the Woods, Candida, Glengarry Glen Ross, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Hamlet, Joggers, All My Sons, and Death and the Maiden. Leslie Carlson passed away from cancer on May 3, 2014, at the age of 81.
