Erland van Lidth(1953-1987)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born in the Netherlands, he came to the United States as a
child in the late 1950s. Erland grew up in Orange, New Jersey;
Ridgefield, Connecticut; and Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. He attended
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he distinguished
himself as a member of the wrestling team and in student theatre
productions while also becoming a teaching assistant while still an
undergraduate. After graduation he moved to New York City, working in
the field of computers, and pursued amateur wrestling, going to the
1976 Montreal Olympics as the heavyweight alternate and being the
hopeful for the 1980 Moscow Olympics (which the US did not ultimately
attend). However, when a casting director for The Wanderers (1979) showed up at the New York Athletic Club, Erland was discovered and cast as "Terror."
Erland continued to work in computers (ultimately starting his own company), fitting in his movie shoots as well as his studies toward an operatic career. Originally a bass-baritone, he appeared many times at the well-known Amato Opera in New York and eventually worked his way into the Heldenbaritone repertoire. He was survived by his son, his wife, his mother (since deceased), his brother Philip van Lidth de Jeude (also an opera singer and film actor), and his sister Philine (also an opera singer [ret], photographer & artist.
Erland continued to work in computers (ultimately starting his own company), fitting in his movie shoots as well as his studies toward an operatic career. Originally a bass-baritone, he appeared many times at the well-known Amato Opera in New York and eventually worked his way into the Heldenbaritone repertoire. He was survived by his son, his wife, his mother (since deceased), his brother Philip van Lidth de Jeude (also an opera singer and film actor), and his sister Philine (also an opera singer [ret], photographer & artist.
