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.
Pocketful of Miracles
(Steve Darcey)
It's a Wonderful Life
(Nick)
Decoy
(Sergeant Joe Portugal)
Guys and Dolls
(Harry the Horse)
Zombies on Broadway
(Ace Miller)
Take One False Step
(Detective Pacciano)
My Dream Is Yours
(Grimes)
To Have and Have Not
(Lt. Coyo)
The Brink's Job
(J. Edgar Hoover)
The Gangster
(Cornell)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
(Boots Morgan)
Hit the Ice
(Harry 'Silky' Fellowsby)
Crime, Inc.
(Capt. Ferrone)
Another Thin Man
(Phil Church)
Street of Chance
(Joe Marruci)
Violence
(Fred Stalk)
Sinbad the Sailor
(Auctioneer)
The Falcon in Hollywood
(Louie Buchanan)
Week-End in Havana
(Boris)
Her Kind of Man
(Felix Bender)
Rise and Shine
(Menace)
Open Secret
(Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli)
The Last Crooked Mile
(Ed 'Wires' MacGuire)
Jinx Money
(Lippy Harris)
Tall, Dark and Handsome
(Pretty Willie Williams)
Stop, You're Killing Me
(Lefty)
Tortilla Flat
(Tito Ralph)
Born to Sing
(Pete Detroit)
Bowery Bombshell
(Ace Deuce Baker)
Sock a Doodle Do
(Kid Banty (voice) (uncredited))
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
(Himself)
The Gem of the Ocean
(Pasha)
Passport to Suez
(Johnny Booth)
Rainbow Over Texas
(Kirby Haynes)
Young Man with Ideas
(Rodwell 'Brick' Davis)
Kiddin' the Kitten
(Dodsworth (voice) (uncredited))
Breakdown
(Nick Sampson)
Lucky Jordan
(Slip Moran)
Frontier Gal
('Blackie' Shoulders)
A Peck o' Trouble
(Dodsworth (voice))
Taxi, Mister
(Gangster Louis Glorio / The Frisco Ghost)
The Diamond Queen
(Mogul)
Behave Yourself!
(Shortwave Bert)
Why Girls Leave Home
(Chris Williams)
Here Come the Nelsons
(Duke)
Somewhere in the Night
(Sam)
Trocadero
(Mickey Jones)
Married Bachelor
(Johnny Brannigan)
Top Secret
(Carl Vitale)
Gambler's Choice
(Chappie Wilson)
Radio Stars on Parade
(Lucky Maddox)
If You Knew Susie
(Steve Garland)
My Mummy's Arms
(Abdullah)
Timber Queen
(Smacksie Golden)
Daughter of the Jungle
(Dalton Kraik)
Alias a Gentleman
(Harry Bealer)
Money from Home
(Jumbo Schneider)
The Islander
(Paul Lazaro)
Private Nurse
(John Winton)
City Without Men
(Monk LaRue)
The Iroquois Trail
(Chief Ogane)
Ouanga
(LeStrange, the Overseer)
Uncertain Glory
(Henri Duval)
Madonna of the Desert
(Nick Julian)
Klondike Kate
('Sometime' Smith)
Pierre of the Plains
(Clairou)
Buy Me That Town
(Chink Moran)
It's Always Sunday
(George)
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
(Himself)
Come Fill the Cup
(Lennie Garr)
Harvest Melody
(Chuck)
Captain Kidd
(Cyprian Boyle)
Color Adjustment
(Self)
River Gang
(Peg Leg)
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
(Hermon)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
(Self (archive footage))
The Gentleman Misbehaves
(Trigger Stazzi)
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'
(Self (archival footage))
The Fabulous Joe
(Louie)
Shep Comes Home
('Swifty' Lewis)
Murder, She Wrote
(Sgt. Bulldog Kowalski)
Cheers
(Sid Nelson)
Burke's Law
(Ronald 'Touchy' Touchstone)
My World and Welcome to It
The Colgate Comedy Hour
(Self)
The Facts of Life
The Cosby Show
(Dr. Wexler)
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(Big Max Calvada)
The Lucy Show
(Sheldon Leonard)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
I Love Lucy
(Harry Martin (uncredited))
The Merv Griffin Show
(Self)
Sanford and Son
The David Susskind Show
(Self)
Linus the Lionhearted
General Electric Theater
I Spy
(Disc Jockey)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
(Self)
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
(Self)
Big Eddie
Screen Director's Playhouse
(George)
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
(Self)
The Duke
(Sam Marco)
The Bob Hope Show
(Self)
The Jack Benny Program
(Elevator Tout)
Burke's Law
('Chicasaw Pete' Wickowski)
Matlock
(Casino Tipster)
The Danny Thomas Show
(Gus)
The Jack Benny Program
(Racetrack Tout)
The Mike Douglas Show
(Self)
Dream On
(Don Monteleoni)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(Self)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
(Johnny Velvet)
Top Secret
(Executive Producer)
Shadow Of Terror
(Story)
The Andy Griffith Show
(Director)
Lassie
(Director)
My World and Welcome to It
(Director)
My World and Welcome to It
(Executive Producer)
My Favorite Martian
(Director)
Shirley's World
(Producer)
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(Director)
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(Producer)
The Real McCoys
(Director)
Good Morning World
(Producer)
General Electric Theater
(Director)
From a Bird's Eye View
(Producer)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
(Director)
Make Room for Granddaddy
(Director)
I Spy
(Director)
I Spy
(Producer)
Accidental Family
(Director)
Accidental Family
(Producer)
The Danny Thomas Hour
(Director)
The Bill Dana Show
(Director)
The Bill Dana Show
(Producer)
The Don Rickles Show
(Producer)
Your Jeweler's Showcase
(Writer)
My Friend Tony
(Producer)
The Andy Griffith Show
(Executive Producer)
The Danny Thomas Show
(Director)
Good Morning World
(Executive Producer)
The Andy Griffith Show
(Creator)
From a Bird's Eye View
(Creator)