Biography
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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
all 124
Movies 80
TV Shows 44
self 13
Producer 9
Director 9
Writer 2
Voice 1
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life (2011)
Color Adjustment (1992)
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1990)
Dream On (1990)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life (1988)
Matlock (1986)
Murder, She Wrote (1984)
The Cosby Show (1984)
Cheers (1982)
The Facts of Life (1979)
The Duke (1979)
The Brink's Job (1978)
The Islander (1978)
Top Secret (1978)
Big Eddie (1975)
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts (1973)
Shirley's World (1972)
Sanford and Son (1972)
The Don Rickles Show (1972)
Make Room for Granddaddy (1970)
From a Bird's Eye View (1970)
My World and Welcome to It (1969)
My Friend Tony (1969)
Accidental Family (1967)
The Danny Thomas Hour (1967)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)
Good Morning, World (1967)
I Spy (1965)
Linus the Lionhearted (1964)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964)
My Favorite Martian (1963)
The Bill Dana Show (1963)
Burke's Law (1963)
The Lucy Show (1962)
The Merv Griffin Show (1962)
Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
The Mike Douglas Show (1961)
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
The David Susskind Show (1959)
The Real McCoys (1957)
Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957)
Guys and Dolls (1955)
Screen Director's Playhouse (1955)
Lassie (1954)
The Duke (1954)
Money from Home (1953)
The Diamond Queen (1953)
The Danny Thomas Show (1953)
A Peck O' Trouble (1953)
General Electric Theater (1953)
General Electric Theater: Wedding Day (1953)
Stop, You're Killing Me (1952)
Your Jeweler's Showcase (1952)
Breakdown (1952)
Sock a Doodle Do (1952)
Young Man with Ideas (1952)
Kiddin' the Kitten (1952)
Here Come the Nelsons (1952)
Come Fill the Cup (1951)
I Love Lucy (1951)
Behave Yourself! (1951)
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
The Jack Benny Program (1950)
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)
The Iroquois Trail (1950)
The Bob Hope Show (1950)
Take One False Step (1949)
My Dream Is Yours (1949)
Daughter of the Jungle (1949)
Shep Comes Home (1948)
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All (1948)
Jinx Money (1948)
Madonna of the Desert (1948)
Open Secret (1948)
If You Knew Susie (1948)
Alias a Gentleman (1948)
The Gangster (1947)
The Fabulous Joe (1947)
Violence (1947)
Sinbad the Sailor (1947)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Decoy (1946)
The Last Crooked Mile (1946)
Bowery Bombshell (1946)
Somewhere in the Night (1946)
Her Kind of Man (1946)
Rainbow Over Texas (1946)
The Gentleman Misbehaves (1946)
Frontier Gal (1945)
Captain Kidd (1945)
Why Girls Leave Home (1945)
Shadow Of Terror (1945)
River Gang (1945)
Radio Stars on Parade (1945)
Zombies on Broadway (1945)
Crime, Inc. (1945)
To Have and Have Not (1945)
The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
Gambler's Choice (1944)
Trocadero (1944)
Uncertain Glory (1944)
Timber Queen (1944)
Klondike Kate (1943)
Harvest Melody (1943)
Passport to Suez (1943)
Hit the Ice (1943)
Taxi, Mister (1943)
City Without Men (1943)
Lucky Jordan (1942)
Street of Chance (1942)
Pierre of the Plains (1942)
Tortilla Flat (1942)
Born to Sing (1942)
Rise and Shine (1941)
Week-End in Havana (1941)
Married Bachelor (1941)
Buy Me That Town (1941)
Private Nurse (1941)
Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941)
Another Thin Man (1939)
Ouanga (1935)
The Gem of the Ocean (1934)
My Mummy's Arms (1934)
Ratings
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1907-02-22
Deathday1997-01-10 (89 years old)
Birth NameSheldon Leonard Bershad
Birth PlaceManhattan, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsS.L. Bershad, S. L. Bershad, Sheldon Leonard Bershad
AwardsEagle Scout, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Primetime Emmy Award
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