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