{{short description|Dutch–American actor (1953–1987)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Use American English|date=July 2019}} {{More citations needed|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Erland van Lidth de Jeude | image = Dynamo The Running Man.jpg | caption = Erland van Lidth de Jeude as Dynamo in ''The Running Man'' (1987) | birth_date = {{birth date|1953|06|03}} | birth_place = Hilversum, Netherlands | death_date = {{death date and age|1987|9|23|1953|06|03}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. | years_active = 1979–1987 | spouse = {{marriage|Annette Friend|September 22, 1986|September 23, 1987}} | children = 1 }}
'''Erland Philip Peter van Lidth de Jeude''' (June 3, 1953 – September 23, 1987) was a Dutch–American actor, opera singer, and amateur wrestler.
==Early life and education== Erland Philip Peter van Lidth de Jeude was born in Hilversum, and came to the United States with his family in 1958, where they resided in Orange, New Jersey (until 1960), then Stamford, Connecticut (1960–1962), then Ridgefield, Connecticut (1962–1970) where he attended Ridgefield High School,<ref>Leonard, Elizabeth. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bridgeport-post-ridgefield-high-scho/134895715/ "Students Get Sports Awards"], ''The Bridgeport Post'', May 29, 1970. Accessed November 9, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Richard Medve, track coach, presented letters to.... Erland Van Lidth de Jeude..."</ref> and moved to Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, in 1970, where he attended Milford Area Senior High School, from which he graduated in 1972.<ref>Concannon, Joe. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-erland-van-lidth-and-hi/134894840/ "Extraordinary young giant hulking about MIT campus"], ''The Boston Globe'', December 9, 1973. Accessed November 9, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "'We moved to Mount Vernon, N.H., after my freshman year (in Ridgefield, Conn.). (He attended Milford Area High). Wrestling never occurred to me.'"</ref> He appeared in theatrical productions and played center and nose guard on the varsity football team. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied computer science and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science & Electrical Engineering in 1977. He also distinguished himself on the wrestling team, where he was the 1976 NCAA Division III runner-up in the heavyweight division,<ref name="NCAA Wrestling">{{cite web | title = 3rd Annual NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships | url = http://armdrag.com/matburn?event=2374&instance=16762 | date = March 6, 1976 }}</ref> and in stage productions, the most successful of which was ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'', in which he played Miles Gloriosus.
==Career== After graduation he worked in Manhattan as a computer professional, while also attending the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal as an alternate in the heavyweight division on the wrestling team.<ref name="SIarticle">{{cite magazine | title = What'll It Be, The Mat Or The Met? | url = https://www.si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1095517/3/index.htm | last = Looney | first = Douglas S. | magazine = Sports Illustrated | date = October 22, 1979 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140222012400/https://www.si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1095517/3/index.htm | archive-date = February 22, 2014 | url-status = dead}}</ref> His preparation for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow was cut short when the United States boycotted the event. He also won the bronze medal in the international competition held in Tehran in 1978.
The {{convert|6|ft|6|in|cm|abbr=on}}, {{convert|340|lb|kg|adj=on}} wrestler was spotted in the New York Athletic Club by a casting director, which led to his role as the fearsome "Terror", leader of the Fordham Baldies, in the 1979 Philip Kaufman film ''The Wanderers''. He continued to juggle his careers in film and information technology while also singing frequently with the Amato Opera in New York, studying to become a Heldenbaritone, and teaching computer programming at Manhattan Community College. He is perhaps best known for his role as Grossberger in ''Stir Crazy'' with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, which was released in December 1980. His co-stars in the 1982 slasher film ''Alone in the Dark'' included Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Donald Pleasence and Dwight Schultz. Erland was also featured in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film ''The Running Man'', which was his last film appearance. He played Dynamo, a sadistic stalker who announces his presence by singing the Valkyries' War Cry from Wagner's ''Die Walküre'' and electrocutes his victims. He once turned down a role in the John Derek ''Tarzan'' film because he did not want to shave his head as he had for ''The Wanderers'' and ''Stir Crazy''.
==Personal life== Van Lidth De Jeude married Annette Friend on September 22, 1986, with whom he had one son.
He was born into the Dutch noble family van Lidth de Jeude and held the predicate of untitled nobility ''Jonkheer'' (comparable to the archaic usage of the British ''Esquire'' and cognate to the German ''Junker'').<ref name="SIarticle"/>
==Death== Van Lidth de Jeude died of heart failure on September 23, 1987, aged 34.
==Wrestling career==
===Collegiate wrestling=== *'''National Collegiate Athletic Association''' **NCAA Division III Heavyweight - 6th place <small>out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology</small> (1975) **NCAA Division III Heavyweight - 2nd place <small>out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology</small> (1976)
== Filmography == {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- |1979|| ''The Wanderers'' || "Terror" || (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude) |- |1980|| ''Stir Crazy'' || Grossberger || (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude) |- |1982|| ''Alone in the Dark'' || Ronald "Fatty" Elster || (as Erland Van Lidth) |- |1987|| ''The Running Man'' || "Dynamo" || (as Erland Van Lidth) (final film role) |}
==See also== * List of Dutch noble families
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|887419|Erland van Lidth}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lidth De Jeude, Erland Van}} Category:1953 births Category:1987 deaths Category:American male film actors Category:20th-century American male opera singers Category:American male sport wrestlers Category:Dutch male film actors Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni Category:People from Hilversum Category:People from Mont Vernon, New Hampshire Category:People from Ridgefield, Connecticut Category:Dutch emigrants to the United States Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:20th-century American engineers