Sheldon Leonard
Acting • Born 1907-02-22 – Died 1997-01-10
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
119 credits
Pocketful of Miracles
Movie • 1961
Steve Darcey
It's a Wonderful Life
Movie • 1946
Nick
Decoy
Movie • 1946
Sergeant Joe Portugal
Guys and Dolls
Movie • 1955
Harry the Horse
Zombies on Broadway
Movie • 1945
Ace Miller
Take One False Step
Movie • 1949
Detective Pacciano
My Dream Is Yours
Movie • 1949
Grimes
To Have and Have Not
Movie • 1945
Lt. Coyo
The Brink's Job
Movie • 1978
J. Edgar Hoover
The Gangster
Movie • 1947
Cornell
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Movie • 1951
Boots Morgan
Hit the Ice
Movie • 1943
Harry 'Silky' Fellowsby
Crime, Inc.
Movie • 1945
Capt. Ferrone
Another Thin Man
Movie • 1939
Phil Church
Street of Chance
Movie • 1942
Joe Marruci
Violence
Movie • 1947
Fred Stalk
Sinbad the Sailor
Movie • 1947
Auctioneer
The Falcon in Hollywood
Movie • 1944
Louie Buchanan
Week-End in Havana
Movie • 1941
Boris
Her Kind of Man
Movie • 1946
Felix Bender
Rise and Shine
Movie • 1941
Menace
Open Secret
Movie • 1948
Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli
The Last Crooked Mile
Movie • 1946
Ed 'Wires' MacGuire
Jinx Money
Movie • 1948
Lippy Harris
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Movie • 1941
Pretty Willie Williams
Stop, You're Killing Me
Movie • 1952
Lefty
Tortilla Flat
Movie • 1942
Tito Ralph
Born to Sing
Movie • 1942
Pete Detroit
Bowery Bombshell
Movie • 1946
Ace Deuce Baker
Sock a Doodle Do
Movie • 1952
Kid Banty (voice) (uncredited)
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
Movie • 2011
Self
The Gem of the Ocean
Movie • 1934
Pasha
Passport to Suez
Movie • 1943
Johnny Booth
Rainbow Over Texas
Movie • 1946
Kirby Haynes
Young Man with Ideas
Movie • 1952
Rodwell 'Brick' Davis
Kiddin' the Kitten
Movie • 1952
Dodsworth (voice) (uncredited)
Breakdown
Movie • 1952
Nick Sampson
Lucky Jordan
Movie • 1942
Slip Moran
Frontier Gal
Movie • 1945
'Blackie' Shoulders
A Peck o' Trouble
Movie • 1953
Dodsworth (voice)
Taxi, Mister
Movie • 1943
Gangster Louis Glorio / The Frisco Ghost
The Diamond Queen
Movie • 1953
Mogul
Behave Yourself!
Movie • 1951
Shortwave Bert
Why Girls Leave Home
Movie • 1945
Chris Williams
Here Come the Nelsons
Movie • 1952
Duke
Somewhere in the Night
Movie • 1946
Sam
Trocadero
Movie • 1944
Mickey Jones
Married Bachelor
Movie • 1941
Johnny Brannigan
Top Secret
Movie • 1978
Carl Vitale
Gambler's Choice
Movie • 1944
Chappie Wilson
Radio Stars on Parade
Movie • 1945
Lucky Maddox
If You Knew Susie
Movie • 1948
Steve Garland
My Mummy's Arms
Movie • 1934
Abdullah
Timber Queen
Movie • 1944
Smacksie Golden
Daughter of the Jungle
Movie • 1949
Dalton Kraik
Alias a Gentleman
Movie • 1948
Harry Bealer
Money from Home
Movie • 1953
Jumbo Schneider
The Islander
Movie • 1978
Paul Lazaro
Private Nurse
Movie • 1941
John Winton
City Without Men
Movie • 1943
Monk LaRue
The Iroquois Trail
Movie • 1950
Chief Ogane
Ouanga
Movie • 1935
LeStrange, the Overseer
Uncertain Glory
Movie • 1944
Henri Duval
Madonna of the Desert
Movie • 1948
Nick Julian
Klondike Kate
Movie • 1943
'Sometime' Smith
Pierre of the Plains
Movie • 1942
Clairou
Buy Me That Town
Movie • 1941
Chink Moran
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
Movie • 2020
Self (archive footage)
Come Fill the Cup
Movie • 1951
Lennie Garr
Harvest Melody
Movie • 1943
Chuck
Captain Kidd
Movie • 1945
Cyprian Boyle
Color Adjustment
Movie • 1992
Self
River Gang
Movie • 1945
Peg Leg
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
Movie • 1948
Hermon
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Movie • 1987
Self (archive footage)
The Gentleman Misbehaves
Movie • 1946
Trigger Stazzi
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Movie • 1990
Self
The Fabulous Joe
Movie • 1947
Louie
Shep Comes Home
Movie • 1948
'Swifty' Lewis
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Sgt. Bulldog Kowalski
Cheers
TV • 1982
Sid Nelson
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Ronald 'Touchy' Touchstone
My World and Welcome to It
TV • 1969
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV • 1950
Self
The Facts of Life
TV • 1979
The Cosby Show
TV • 1984
Dr. Wexler
The Dick Van Dyke Show
TV • 1961
Big Max Calvada
The Lucy Show
TV • 1962
Sheldon Leonard
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
TV • 1964
Norman Miles
I Love Lucy
TV • 1951
Harry Martin (uncredited)
The Merv Griffin Show
TV • 1962
Self
Sanford and Son
TV • 1972
The David Susskind Show
TV • 1959
Self
Linus the Lionhearted
TV • 1964
Linus (voice)
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
I Spy
TV • 1965
Disc Jockey
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
TV • 1968
Self (uncredited)
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
TV • 1957
Self
Big Eddie
TV • 1975
Screen Director's Playhouse
TV • 1955
George
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
TV • 1973
Self
The Duke
TV • 1954
Sam Marco
The Bob Hope Show
TV • 1950
Self
The Jack Benny Program
TV • 1950
Elevator Tout
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
'Chicasaw Pete' Wickowski
Matlock
TV • 1986
Casino Tipster
The Danny Thomas Show
TV • 1953
Gus
The Jack Benny Program
TV • 1950
Racetrack Tout
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
Dream On
TV • 1990
Don Monteleoni
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
TV • 1950
Johnny Velvet
Dinah!
TV • 1974
Self
The Jack Benny Program
TV • 1950
Tombstone Harry
The Jack Benny Program
TV • 1950
Bobby Darin's Agent (uncredited)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
TV • 1950
Silky Thompson
American Masters
TV • 1986
Self - Interviewee (archive footage)
Your Jeweler's Showcase
TV • 1952
Hardwick Harris
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
TV • 1968
Self