Actor. He was best known for playing the roles of shady characters and outright villains including, sergeants, colonels, henchmen, Nazis, Romans, and doctors, usually in classic war films for RKO Studios. He will be best remembered for playing the role of 'Jason Hoag' in the horror mystery film drama, "The Seventh Victim" (1943). The film which was directed by Mark Robson, which was written for the screen by Charles O'Neal and DeWitt Bodeen, and which also starred Kim Hunter, Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Hugh Beaumont, and Kim Hunter. He was born one of three children as Erford Holmes Gage in Northfield, Massachusetts, to Arthur Chase Gage (1880-1940), and his wife Pearl Mignon Lund Gage (1878-1930), on April 5, 1912. He was educated locally with four years of high school and later pursued an acting career. He began his acting career on Broadway in New York City, New York, in several stage productions of such plays as, 'Coriolanus' in "Coriolanus" (January 25, 1938, to February 12, 1938), as 'David' in "No More Peace" (January 25, 1938, to February 12, 1938), as 'Capt. Robert Jinks' in "Captain Jinks Of The Horse Marines" (January 25, 1938, to February 12, 1938), as 'Freddy Eynsford Hill' in "Pygmalion (Jan 25, 1938 - Feb 12, 1938), "as 'Captain Caleb Williams' in "Diff'rent" (January 25, 1938, to February 12, 1938), 'Abraham Lincoln' in "Prologue To Glory (March 17, 1938, to November 05, 1938, replacement September 19, 1938-), as 'Saul Trevithick' in "They Walk Alone" (March 12, 1941, to March 29, 1941), and as 'Lennox' in "Macbeth" (November 11, 1941, to February 28, 1942). He then moved to Los Angeles, California, after appearing in Shakespearean plays on the stage on the East Coast for twelve years. He got a film contract with RKO Studios and turned to appear in films. He made his actual film debut playing the role of 'Paul Brenner' in the action thriller film drama, "Seven Miles From Alcatraz" (1942). The film which was directed by Edward Dmytryk, which was written for the screen by Joseph Krumgold, which was based on a story by John D. Klorer, and which also starred James Craig, Bonita Granville, Frank Jenks, George Cleveland, and Otto Reichow, tells the story of after After Pearl Harbor, when convicts at Alcatraz prison live in fear of bomb attacks, driving Champ Larkin and his pal Jimbo to a desperate escape attempt which lands them on a tiny lighthouse island, where they take over. The five inhabitants are stymied in their efforts to summon aid. But the island also figures in the schemes of a big Nazi spy ring; which will win out, the gangsters' greed or their patriotism? Besides, playing the role of 'Paul Brenner' in the action thriller film drama, "Seven Miles From Alcatraz" (1942), and playing the role of 'Jason Hoag' in the horror mystery film drama, "The Seventh Victim" (1943), his many other film credits include, "Hitler's Children" (1943, He played the role of the sadistic Nazi 'Dr. Schmidt' in the film), "The Falcon Strikes Back" (1943), "Bombardier" (1943), "Mr. Lucky" (1943), "The Falcon In Danger" (1943), "Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event" (1943), "The Fallen Sparrow" (1943), "The Adventures Of A Rookie" (1943), "Gangway For Tomorrow" (1943), "Rookies In Burma" (1943), and 'The Curse Of The Cat People" (1944). His last film role was playing 'Colonel Prilenko' in the romantic war film drama, "Days Of Glory" (1944). The film which was directed by Jacques Tourneur, which was written for the screen by Casey Robinson, which was based on an original story by Melchior Lengyel, and which also starred Gregory Peck, Tamara Toumanova, Maria Palmer, and tells the story of a heroic guerilla group that fights back against impossible odds during the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1941. The film was released to the general public a year after his death. He left the film industry following the outbreak of World War II. He joined the United States Army on August 27, 1943, with the rank of Staff Sergeant and was assigned to the 20th Infantry 6th Division. He was killed during the Battle of Luzon (which was part of the Philippines Campaign of 1945 to 1945 to liberate the Luzon island group), in Luzon, Philippines, on March 17, 1945, at the age of 32, and he was buried in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, Philippines. His military records say, "Staff Sergeant Erford H. Gage armed himself with hand grenades during a night counterattack and crawled 25 yards across a fire-swept terrain to destroy a knee mortar and kill the enemy at the position." For his military service, he was awarded the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, and a Purple Heart. He was married to the actress Nell King Gage who first worked in New York and then with Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California. The couple had no children together.