Sheldon Leonard

Sheldon Leonard

  • Birthday: 1907-02-22
  • Deathday: 1997-01-10
  • Place of birth: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
  • Also know as: S.L. Bershad

Biography

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

A Peck O' Trouble

1953

As Dodsworth (voice)

Why Girls Leave Home

1945

As Chris Williams

Sock a Doodle Do

1952

As Kid Banty (voice) (uncredited)

Violence

1947

As Fred Stalk

Open Secret

1948

As Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli

The Gem of the Ocean

1934

As Pasha

Lucky Jordan

1942

As Slip Moran

Kiddin' the Kitten

1952

As Dodsworth (voice) (uncredited)

Top Secret

1978

As Carl Vitale

Daughter of the Jungle

1949

As Dalton Kraik

Harvest Melody

1943

As Chuck

The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'

1990

As Self (archival footage)

Private Nurse

1941

As John Winton

Street of Chance

1942

As Joe Marruci

Jinx Money

1948

As Lippy Harris

Rainbow Over Texas

1946

As Kirby Haynes

Breakdown

1952

As Nick Sampson

Taxi, Mister

1943

As Gangster Louis Glorio / The Frisco Ghost

The Diamond Queen

1953

As Mogul

My Mummy's Arms

1934

As Abdullah

Timber Queen

1944

As Smacksie Golden

Ouanga

1935

As LeStrange, the Overseer

Madonna of the Desert

1948

As Nick Julian

Buy Me That Town

1941

As Chink Moran

Decoy

1946

As Sergeant Joe Portugal

Zombies on Broadway

1945

As Ace Miller

The Falcon in Hollywood

1944

As Louie Buchanan

Radio Stars on Parade

1945

As Lucky Maddox

Tall, Dark and Handsome

1941

As Pretty Willie Williams

Passport to Suez

1943

As Johnny Booth

Trocadero

1944

As Mickey Jones

Married Bachelor

1941

As Johnny Brannigan

Klondike Kate

1943

As 'Sometime' Smith

River Gang

1945

As Peg Leg

The Fabulous Joe

1947

As Louie

Shep Comes Home

1948

As 'Swifty' Lewis

To Have and Have Not

1945

As Lt. Coyo

Crime, Inc.

1945

As Capt. Ferrone

Rise and Shine

1941

As Menace

The Last Crooked Mile

1946

As Ed 'Wires' MacGuire

Tortilla Flat

1942

As Tito Ralph

Frontier Gal

1945

As 'Blackie' Shoulders

If You Knew Susie

1948

As Steve Garland

Gambler's Choice

1944

As Chappie Wilson

The Iroquois Trail

1950

As Chief Ogane

Born to Sing

1942

As Pete Detroit

The Brink's Job

1978

As J. Edgar Hoover

The Gangster

1947

As Cornell

Week-End in Havana

1941

As Boris

Bowery Bombshell

1946

As Ace Deuce Baker

The Gentleman Misbehaves

1946

As Trigger Stazzi

The Islander

1978

As Paul Lazaro

Take One False Step

1949

As Detective Pacciano

Hit the Ice

1943

As Harry 'Silky' Fellowsby

Sinbad the Sailor

1947

As Auctioneer

Her Kind of Man

1946

As Felix Bender

Alias a Gentleman

1948

As Harry Bealer

Money from Home

1953

As Jumbo Schneider

Pierre of the Plains

1942

As Clairou

Captain Kidd

1945

As Cyprian Boyle

Guys and Dolls

1955

As Harry the Horse

My Dream Is Yours

1949

As Grimes

Young Man with Ideas

1952

As Rodwell 'Brick' Davis

City Without Men

1943

As Monk LaRue

Come Fill the Cup

1951

As Lennie Garr

Color Adjustment

1992

As Self

Pocketful of Miracles

1961

As Steve Darcey

Another Thin Man

1939

As Phil Church

Behave Yourself!

1951

As Shortwave Bert

Uncertain Glory

1944

As Henri Duval

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

1988

As Self (archive footage)

Production

Top Secret

1978

As Executive Producer

Shadow Of Terror

1945

As Story

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