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.
Fotos
Películas (80)
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
2020 · Self (archive footage)
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
2011 · Self
Color Adjustment
1992 · Self
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'
1990 · Self
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987 · Self (archive footage)
The Brink's Job
1978 · J. Edgar Hoover
The Islander
1978 · Paul Lazaro
Top Secret
1978 · Carl Vitale, Executive Producer
Pocketful of Miracles
1961 · Steve Darcey
Guys and Dolls
1955 · Harry the Horse
Money from Home
1953 · Jumbo Schneider
The Diamond Queen
1953 · Mogul
A Peck o' Trouble
1953 · Dodsworth (voice)
Stop, You're Killing Me
1952 · Lefty
Breakdown
1952 · Nick Sampson
Sock a Doodle Do
1952 · Kid Banty (voice) (uncredited)
Young Man with Ideas
1952 · Rodwell 'Brick' Davis
Kiddin' the Kitten
1952 · Dodsworth (voice) (uncredited)
Here Come the Nelsons
1952 · Duke
Come Fill the Cup
1951 · Lennie Garr
Behave Yourself!
1951 · Shortwave Bert
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1951 · Boots Morgan
The Iroquois Trail
1950 · Chief Ogane
Take One False Step
1949 · Detective Pacciano
My Dream Is Yours
1949 · Grimes
Daughter of the Jungle
1949 · Dalton Kraik
Shep Comes Home
1948 · 'Swifty' Lewis
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
1948 · Hermon
Jinx Money
1948 · Lippy Harris
Madonna of the Desert
1948 · Nick Julian
Open Secret
1948 · Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli
If You Knew Susie
1948 · Steve Garland
Alias a Gentleman
1948 · Harry Bealer
The Gangster
1947 · Cornell
The Fabulous Joe
1947 · Louie
Violence
1947 · Fred Stalk
Sinbad the Sailor
1947 · Auctioneer
It's a Wonderful Life
1946 · Nick
Decoy
1946 · Sergeant Joe Portugal
The Last Crooked Mile
1946 · Ed 'Wires' MacGuire
Bowery Bombshell
1946 · Ace Deuce Baker
Somewhere in the Night
1946 · Sam
Her Kind of Man
1946 · Felix Bender
Rainbow Over Texas
1946 · Kirby Haynes
The Gentleman Misbehaves
1946 · Trigger Stazzi
Frontier Gal
1945 · 'Blackie' Shoulders
Captain Kidd
1945 · Cyprian Boyle
Why Girls Leave Home
1945 · Chris Williams
Shadow Of Terror
1945 · Story
River Gang
1945 · Peg Leg
Radio Stars on Parade
1945 · Lucky Maddox
Zombies on Broadway
1945 · Ace Miller
Crime, Inc.
1945 · Capt. Ferrone
To Have and Have Not
1945 · Lt. Coyo
The Falcon in Hollywood
1944 · Louie Buchanan
Gambler's Choice
1944 · Chappie Wilson
Trocadero
1944 · Mickey Jones
Uncertain Glory
1944 · Henri Duval
Timber Queen
1944 · Smacksie Golden
Klondike Kate
1943 · 'Sometime' Smith
Harvest Melody
1943 · Chuck
Passport to Suez
1943 · Johnny Booth
Hit the Ice
1943 · Harry 'Silky' Fellowsby
Taxi, Mister
1943 · Gangster Louis Glorio / The Frisco Ghost
City Without Men
1943 · Monk LaRue
Lucky Jordan
1942 · Slip Moran
Street of Chance
1942 · Joe Marruci
Pierre of the Plains
1942 · Clairou
Tortilla Flat
1942 · Tito Ralph
Born to Sing
1942 · Pete Detroit
Rise and Shine
1941 · Menace
Week-End in Havana
1941 · Boris
Married Bachelor
1941 · Johnny Brannigan
Buy Me That Town
1941 · Chink Moran
Private Nurse
1941 · John Winton
Tall, Dark and Handsome
1941 · Pretty Willie Williams
Another Thin Man
1939 · Phil Church
Ouanga
1935 · LeStrange, the Overseer
The Gem of the Ocean
1934 · Pasha
My Mummy's Arms
1934 · Abdullah
Series (48)
Dream On
1990 · Don Monteleoni
American Masters
1986 · Self - Interviewee (archive footage)
Matlock
1986 · Casino Tipster
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · Sgt. Bulldog Kowalski
The Cosby Show
1984 · Dr. Wexler
Cheers
1982 · Sid Nelson
The Facts of Life
1979
Big Eddie
1975
Dinah!
1974 · Self
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
1973 · Self
Shirley's World
1972 · Executive Producer
Sanford and Son
1972
The Don Rickles Show
1972 · Producer
Make Room for Granddaddy
1970 · Director
From a Bird's Eye View
1970 · Producer, Creator
My World and Welcome to It
1969 · Executive Producer, Director
My Friend Tony
1969 · Producer
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968 · Self (uncredited), Self
Accidental Family
1967 · Producer, Director
The Danny Thomas Hour
1967 · Director
Good Morning World
1967 · Producer, Executive Producer
I Spy
1965 · Disc Jockey, Producer, Director
Linus the Lionhearted
1964 · Linus (voice)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
1964 · Norman Miles, Director
My Favorite Martian
1963 · Director
The Bill Dana Show
1963 · Producer, Director
Burke's Law
1963 · Ronald 'Touchy' Touchstone, 'Chicasaw Pete' Wickowski
The Lucy Show
1962 · Sheldon Leonard
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · Self
The Dick Van Dyke Show
1961 · Big Max Calvada, Floyd B. Bariscale (voice) (uncredited), Producer, Director
The Andy Griffith Show
1960 · Director, Executive Producer, Creator
The David Susskind Show
1959 · Self
The Real McCoys
1957 · Director
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957 · Self
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955 · George
Lassie
1954 · Director
The Duke
1954 · Sam Marco
The Danny Thomas Show
1953 · Gus, Phil Brokaw, Director
General Electric Theater
1953 · Director, Teleplay
Your Jeweler's Showcase
1952 · Hardwick Harris, Writer, Teleplay
I Love Lucy
1951 · Harry Martin (uncredited)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · Director
The Jack Benny Program
1950 · Elevator Tout, Racetrack Tout, Tombstone Harry, Bobby Darin's Agent (uncredited)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
1950 · Johnny Velvet, Silky Thompson
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950 · Self
The Bob Hope Show
1950 · Self