He worked as a soloist in a band as vocalist and trombone player, performed in Max Reinhardt's productions, and then gained a small amount of stage experience in a comedy vaudeville act.

He went on to appear in films such as The Snake Pit; Sorry, Wrong Number; Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd; Invaders from Mars; On the Waterfront; A Gathering of Eagles; Roustabout; The Carpetbaggers; and Mirage.

[3] Among Erickson's more notable roles were as Deborah Kerr's macho husband in the stage and film versions of Tea and Sympathy and as Greta Garbo's brother in Conquest (1937).

Erickson appeared frequently on television; he was cast as Dr. Hillyer in "Consider Her Ways" (1964) and as Paul White in "The Monkey's Paw—A Retelling" (1965) on CBS's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

He portrayed a rancher, Big John Cannon, determined to establish a cattle empire in the Arizona Territory while keeping peace with the Apache.