Acting
Sheldon Leonard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and writer. Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle class Jewish parents Anna Levit and Frank Bershad. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1929. As an actor, Leonard specialized in playing supporting characters, especially gangsters or "heavies", in films such as It's a Wonderful Life (1946; as bartender Nick), To Have and Have Not (1944), Guys and Dolls (1955), and Open Secret (1948). His trademark was his especially thick New York accent, usually delivered from the side of his mouth. In Decoy (1946), Leonard uses his "heavy" persona to create the hard-boiled police detective Joe Portugal. On radio from 1945 to 1955, Leonard played an eccentric racetrack tout on The Jack Benny Program and later in the TV series of the same name. His role was to salute Benny out of the blue in railroad stations, on street corners, or in department stores ("Hey Bud. C'mere a minute."), ask Benny what he was about to do, and then proceed to try to argue him out of his course of action by resorting to inane and irrelevant racing logic. As "The Tout," he never gave out information on horse racing, unless Jack demanded it. One excuse the tout gave was, "Who knows about horses?" Leonard was part of the cast of voice actors on the Damon Runyon Theatre radio show (1948-1949). He was part of the ensemble cast of the Martin and Lewis radio show. He also appeared frequently on The Adventures of the Saint, often playing gangsters and heavies, but also sometimes in more positive roles. Leonard was also a regular on the radio comedy series The Adventures of Maisie in the 1940s. During the 1950s, Leonard provided the voice of lazy fat cat Dodsworth in two Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoons directed by Robert McKimson. In the adventure movie The Iroquois Trail (1950), Leonard played against type in the significant role of Chief Ogane, a Native American warrior, who pursues and fights the frontiersman Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler (George Montgomery) in a climactic duel to the death with knives. Later in the 1950s and 1960s, he established a reputation as a producer of successful television series, including The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room For Daddy) (1953–64), The Andy Griffith Show (1960–68), Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. (1964–69), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66), and I Spy (1965–68). He also directed several TV series episodes, including four of the first eight episodes of the TV series Lassie (Season 1, 1954). Leonard also provided the voice of Linus the Lionhearted in a series of Post Crispy Critters cereal TV commercials in 1963-64, which led to a Linus cartoon series that aired on Saturday (and later, Sunday) mornings on CBS (1964–66) and ABC (1967–69). He also was briefly the star of his own television show Big Eddie (1975), where he played the owner of a large sports arena. The show lasted for only ten episodes.
Filmography
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
Film · 2020
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
Film · 2011
Color Adjustment
Film · 1992
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Film · 1990
Dream On
Series · 1990
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Film · 1987
Matlock
Series · 1986
American Masters
Series · 1986
Murder, She Wrote
Series · 1984
The Cosby Show
Series · 1984
Cheers
Series · 1982
The Facts of Life
Series · 1979
The Brink's Job
Film · 1978
Top Secret
Film · 1978
The Islander
Film · 1978
Big Eddie
Series · 1975
Dinah!
Series · 1974
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Series · 1973
Sanford and Son
Series · 1972
My World and Welcome to It
Series · 1969
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Series · 1968
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Series · 1968
I Spy
Series · 1965
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Series · 1964
Linus the Lionhearted
Series · 1964
Burke's Law
Series · 1963
Burke's Law
Series · 1963
The Lucy Show
Series · 1962
The Merv Griffin Show
Series · 1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Series · 1962
Pocketful of Miracles
Film · 1961
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Series · 1961
The Mike Douglas Show
Series · 1961
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Series · 1961
The David Susskind Show
Series · 1959
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Series · 1957
Guys and Dolls
Film · 1955
Screen Director's Playhouse
Series · 1955
The Duke
Series · 1954
A Peck o' Trouble
Film · 1953
The Diamond Queen
Film · 1953
Money from Home
Film · 1953
General Electric Theater
Series · 1953
The Danny Thomas Show
Series · 1953
The Danny Thomas Show
Series · 1953
Stop, You're Killing Me
Film · 1952
Sock a Doodle Do
Film · 1952
Young Man with Ideas
Film · 1952
Kiddin' the Kitten
Film · 1952
Breakdown
Film · 1952
Here Come the Nelsons
Film · 1952
Your Jeweler's Showcase
Series · 1952
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Film · 1951
Behave Yourself!
Film · 1951
Come Fill the Cup
Film · 1951
I Love Lucy
Series · 1951
The Iroquois Trail
Film · 1950
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Series · 1950
The Bob Hope Show
Series · 1950
The Jack Benny Program
Series · 1950
The Jack Benny Program
Series · 1950
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Series · 1950
The Jack Benny Program
Series · 1950
The Jack Benny Program
Series · 1950
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Series · 1950
Take One False Step
Film · 1949
My Dream Is Yours
Film · 1949
Daughter of the Jungle
Film · 1949
Open Secret
Film · 1948
Jinx Money
Film · 1948
If You Knew Susie
Film · 1948
Alias a Gentleman
Film · 1948
Madonna of the Desert
Film · 1948
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
Film · 1948
Shep Comes Home
Film · 1948
The Gangster
Film · 1947
Violence
Film · 1947
Sinbad the Sailor
Film · 1947
The Fabulous Joe
Film · 1947
It's a Wonderful Life
Film · 1946
Decoy
Film · 1946
Her Kind of Man
Film · 1946
The Last Crooked Mile
Film · 1946
Bowery Bombshell
Film · 1946
Rainbow Over Texas
Film · 1946
Somewhere in the Night
Film · 1946
The Gentleman Misbehaves
Film · 1946
Zombies on Broadway
Film · 1945
To Have and Have Not
Film · 1945
Crime, Inc.
Film · 1945
Frontier Gal
Film · 1945
Why Girls Leave Home
Film · 1945
Radio Stars on Parade
Film · 1945
Captain Kidd
Film · 1945
River Gang
Film · 1945
The Falcon in Hollywood
Film · 1944
Trocadero
Film · 1944
Gambler's Choice
Film · 1944
Timber Queen
Film · 1944
Uncertain Glory
Film · 1944
Hit the Ice
Film · 1943
Passport to Suez
Film · 1943
Taxi, Mister
Film · 1943
City Without Men
Film · 1943
Klondike Kate
Film · 1943
Harvest Melody
Film · 1943
Street of Chance
Film · 1942
Tortilla Flat
Film · 1942
Born to Sing
Film · 1942
Lucky Jordan
Film · 1942
Pierre of the Plains
Film · 1942
Week-End in Havana
Film · 1941
Rise and Shine
Film · 1941
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Film · 1941
Married Bachelor
Film · 1941
Private Nurse
Film · 1941
Buy Me That Town
Film · 1941
Another Thin Man
Film · 1939
Ouanga
Film · 1935
The Gem of the Ocean
Film · 1934
My Mummy's Arms
Film · 1934