Diminutive, worried-looking character actor and dedicated genealogist, the son of a flour miller. Erik studied law at Dover College and Jesus College, Cambridge, and later trained for acting at RADA. During World War II, he served as a sergeant with the Eighth Army in Italy and Egypt. From the mid-1930's, he appeared primarily on television, often in bumbling or owlish roles. He was seen to best effect in recurring roles as Mr. Smith in
Please Sir! (1968) and as Co-Ordinator Engin in "The Deadly Assassin" episodes of
Doctor Who (1963).
