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.
Acted in
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
2020
as Himself
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
2011
as Himself
Color Adjustment
1992
as Self
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'
1990
as Self (archival footage)
Dream On
1990
as Don Monteleoni
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1988
as Self (archive footage)
Matlock
1986
as Casino Tipster
Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Sgt. Bulldog Kowalski
The Cosby Show
1984
as Dr. Wexler
Cheers
1982
as Sid Nelson
The Facts of Life
1979
The Brink's Job
1978
as J. Edgar Hoover
The Islander
1978
as Paul Lazaro
Top Secret
1978
as Carl Vitale
Big Eddie
1975
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
1973
as Self
Sanford and Son
1972
My World and Welcome to It
1969
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1967
as Self
I Spy
1965
as Disc Jockey
Linus the Lionhearted
1964
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
1964
Burke's Law
1963
as Ronald 'Touchy' Touchstone
Burke's Law
1963
as 'Chicasaw Pete' Wickowski
The Lucy Show
1962
as Sheldon Leonard
Pocketful of Miracles
1961
as Steve Darcey
The Dick Van Dyke Show
1961
as Big Max Calvada
Guys and Dolls
1955
as Harry the Horse
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
as George
The Duke
1954
as Sam Marco
Money from Home
1953
as Jumbo Schneider
The Diamond Queen
1953
as Mogul
The Danny Thomas Show
1953
as Gus
A Peck o' Trouble
1953
as Dodsworth (voice)
General Electric Theater
1953
Stop, You're Killing Me
1952
as Lefty
Breakdown
1952
as Nick Sampson
Sock a Doodle Do
1952
as Kid Banty (voice) (uncredited)
Young Man with Ideas
1952
as Rodwell 'Brick' Davis
Kiddin' the Kitten
1952
as Dodsworth (voice) (uncredited)
Here Come the Nelsons
1952
as Duke
Come Fill the Cup
1951
as Lennie Garr
I Love Lucy
1951
as Harry Martin (uncredited)
Behave Yourself!
1951
as Shortwave Bert
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1951
as Boots Morgan
The Jack Benny Program
1950
as Elevator Tout
The Jack Benny Program
1950
as Racetrack Tout
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
1950
as Johnny Velvet
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
The Iroquois Trail
1950
as Chief Ogane
Take One False Step
1949
as Detective Pacciano
My Dream Is Yours
1949
as Grimes
Daughter of the Jungle
1949
as Dalton Kraik
Shep Comes Home
1948
as 'Swifty' Lewis
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
1948
as Hermon
Jinx Money
1948
as Lippy Harris
Madonna of the Desert
1948
as Nick Julian
Open Secret
1948
as Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli
If You Knew Susie
1948
as Steve Garland
Alias a Gentleman
1948
as Harry Bealer
The Gangster
1947
as Cornell
The Fabulous Joe
1947
as Louie
Violence
1947
as Fred Stalk
Sinbad the Sailor
1947
as Auctioneer
It's a Wonderful Life
1946
as Nick
Decoy
1946
as Sergeant Joe Portugal
The Last Crooked Mile
1946
as Ed 'Wires' MacGuire
Bowery Bombshell
1946
as Ace Deuce Baker
Somewhere in the Night
1946
as Sam
Her Kind of Man
1946
as Felix Bender
Rainbow Over Texas
1946
as Kirby Haynes
The Gentleman Misbehaves
1946
as Trigger Stazzi
Frontier Gal
1945
as 'Blackie' Shoulders
Captain Kidd
1945
as Cyprian Boyle
Why Girls Leave Home
1945
as Chris Williams
River Gang
1945
as Peg Leg
Radio Stars on Parade
1945
as Lucky Maddox
Zombies on Broadway
1945
as Ace Miller
Crime, Inc.
1945
as Capt. Ferrone
To Have and Have Not
1945
as Lt. Coyo
The Falcon in Hollywood
1944
as Louie Buchanan
Gambler's Choice
1944
as Chappie Wilson
Trocadero
1944
as Mickey Jones
Uncertain Glory
1944
as Henri Duval
Timber Queen
1944
as Smacksie Golden
Klondike Kate
1943
as 'Sometime' Smith
Harvest Melody
1943
as Chuck
Passport to Suez
1943
as Johnny Booth
Hit the Ice
1943
as Harry 'Silky' Fellowsby
Taxi, Mister
1943
as Gangster Louis Glorio / The Frisco Ghost
City Without Men
1943
as Monk LaRue
Lucky Jordan
1942
as Slip Moran
Street of Chance
1942
as Joe Marruci
Pierre of the Plains
1942
as Clairou
Tortilla Flat
1942
as Tito Ralph
Born to Sing
1942
as Pete Detroit
Rise and Shine
1941
as Menace
Week-End in Havana
1941
as Boris
Married Bachelor
1941
as Johnny Brannigan
Buy Me That Town
1941
as Chink Moran
Private Nurse
1941
as John Winton
Tall, Dark and Handsome
1941
as Pretty Willie Williams
Another Thin Man
1939
as Phil Church
Ouanga
1935
as LeStrange, the Overseer
The Gem of the Ocean
1934
as Pasha
My Mummy's Arms
1934
as Abdullah
It's Always Sunday
as George