Sheldon Leonard
Actor/Actriz
78
Filmes
42
Séries
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.
Como Ator/Atriz
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
Se Ha Escrito un Crimen
Sgt. Bulldog Kowalski
Cheers
Sid Nelson
The Cosby Show
Dr. Wexler
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
The Facts of Life
Matlock
Casino Tipster
Yo Amo a Lucy
Harry Martin (uncredited)
The Lucy Show
Sheldon Leonard
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Big Max Calvada
Burke's Law
Ronald 'Touchy' Touchstone
American Masters
Self - Interviewee (archive footage)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Norman Miles
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
Sanford and Son
The Jack Benny Program
Elevator Tout
The Bob Hope Show
Self
Dinah!
Self
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Johnny Velvet
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited)
Dream On
Don Monteleoni
The Danny Thomas Show
Gus
I Spy
Disc Jockey
Screen Director's Playhouse
George
¡Qué Bello es Vivir!
Nick
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self
My World and Welcome to It
The David Susskind Show
Self
General Electric Theater
Por Trás das Câmeras
Lassie
Director
The Andy Griffith Show
Director, Productor Ejecutivo, Creator
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Productor, Director
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Director
The Real McCoys
Director
My Favorite Martian
Director
The Danny Thomas Show
Director
I Spy
Productor, Director
My World and Welcome to It
Productor Ejecutivo, Director
Good Morning World
Productor, Productor Ejecutivo
The Bill Dana Show
Productor, Director
The Danny Thomas Hour
Director
Shirley's World
Productor Ejecutivo
General Electric Theater
Director, Teleplay
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Director
Accidental Family
Productor, Director
From a Bird's Eye View
Productor, Creator
Your Jeweler's Showcase
Escritor, Teleplay
Top Secret
Productor Ejecutivo