From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0502766
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1545340
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Filmography (Movies)
The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/2020
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2011
Color Adjustment
Character:Self
Release Date:29/01/1992
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Character:Self
Release Date:18/10/1990
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:13/03/1987
The Brink's Job
Character:J. Edgar Hoover
Release Date:08/12/1978
The Islander
Character:Paul Lazaro
Release Date:16/09/1978
Top Secret
Character:Carl Vitale
Release Date:04/06/1978
Pocketful of Miracles
Character:Steve Darcey
Release Date:18/12/1961
Guys and Dolls
Character:Harry the Horse
Release Date:23/12/1955
Money from Home
Character:Jumbo Schneider
Release Date:31/12/1953
The Diamond Queen
Character:Mogul
Release Date:28/11/1953
A Peck o' Trouble
Character:Dodsworth (voice)
Release Date:27/03/1953
Stop, You're Killing Me
Character:Lefty
Release Date:10/12/1952
Breakdown
Character:Nick Sampson
Release Date:16/07/1952
Sock a Doodle Do
Character:Kid Banty (voice) (uncredited)
Release Date:09/05/1952
Young Man with Ideas
Character:Rodwell 'Brick' Davis
Release Date:02/05/1952
Kiddin' the Kitten
Character:Dodsworth (voice) (uncredited)
Release Date:05/04/1952
Here Come the Nelsons
Character:Duke
Release Date:23/02/1952
Come Fill the Cup
Character:Lennie Garr
Release Date:24/10/1951
Behave Yourself!
Character:Shortwave Bert
Release Date:22/09/1951
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Character:Boots Morgan
Release Date:14/03/1951
The Iroquois Trail
Character:Chief Ogane
Release Date:15/06/1950
Take One False Step
Character:Detective Pacciano
Release Date:14/08/1949
My Dream Is Yours
Character:Grimes
Release Date:15/04/1949
Daughter of the Jungle
Character:Dalton Kraik
Release Date:08/02/1949
Shep Comes Home
Character:'Swifty' Lewis
Release Date:03/12/1948
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
Character:Hermon
Release Date:19/09/1948
Jinx Money
Character:Lippy Harris
Release Date:27/06/1948
Madonna of the Desert
Character:Nick Julian
Release Date:23/02/1948
Open Secret
Character:Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli
Release Date:14/02/1948
If You Knew Susie
Character:Steve Garland
Release Date:07/02/1948
Alias a Gentleman
Character:Harry Bealer
Release Date:03/02/1948
The Gangster
Character:Cornell
Release Date:25/11/1947
The Fabulous Joe
Character:Louie
Release Date:28/08/1947
Violence
Character:Fred Stalk
Release Date:09/05/1947
Sinbad the Sailor
Character:Auctioneer
Release Date:13/01/1947
It's a Wonderful Life
Character:Nick
Release Date:20/12/1946
Decoy
Character:Sergeant Joe Portugal
Release Date:14/09/1946
The Last Crooked Mile
Character:Ed 'Wires' MacGuire
Release Date:09/08/1946
Bowery Bombshell
Character:Ace Deuce Baker
Release Date:20/07/1946
Somewhere in the Night
Character:Sam
Release Date:12/06/1946
Her Kind of Man
Character:Felix Bender
Release Date:11/05/1946
Rainbow Over Texas
Character:Kirby Haynes
Release Date:09/05/1946
The Gentleman Misbehaves
Character:Trigger Stazzi
Release Date:28/02/1946
Frontier Gal
Character:'Blackie' Shoulders
Release Date:14/12/1945
Captain Kidd
Character:Cyprian Boyle
Release Date:22/11/1945
Why Girls Leave Home
Character:Chris Williams
Release Date:09/10/1945
River Gang
Character:Peg Leg
Release Date:21/09/1945
Radio Stars on Parade
Character:Lucky Maddox
Release Date:01/08/1945
Zombies on Broadway
Character:Ace Miller
Release Date:01/05/1945
Crime, Inc.
Character:Capt. Ferrone
Release Date:15/04/1945
To Have and Have Not
Character:Lt. Coyo
Release Date:20/01/1945
The Falcon in Hollywood
Character:Louie Buchanan
Release Date:08/12/1944
Gambler's Choice
Character:Chappie Wilson
Release Date:27/04/1944
Trocadero
Character:Mickey Jones
Release Date:24/04/1944
Uncertain Glory
Character:Henri Duval
Release Date:07/04/1944
Timber Queen
Character:Smacksie Golden
Release Date:13/01/1944
Klondike Kate
Character:'Sometime' Smith
Release Date:16/12/1943
Harvest Melody
Character:Chuck
Release Date:22/11/1943
Passport to Suez
Character:Johnny Booth
Release Date:19/08/1943
Hit the Ice
Character:Harry 'Silky' Fellowsby
Release Date:02/06/1943
Taxi, Mister
Character:Gangster Louis Glorio / The Frisco Ghost
Release Date:16/04/1943
City Without Men
Character:Monk LaRue
Release Date:14/01/1943
Lucky Jordan
Character:Slip Moran
Release Date:16/11/1942
Street of Chance
Character:Joe Marruci
Release Date:03/10/1942
Pierre of the Plains
Character:Clairou
Release Date:29/07/1942
Tortilla Flat
Character:Tito Ralph
Release Date:21/05/1942
Born to Sing
Character:Pete Detroit
Release Date:18/02/1942
Rise and Shine
Character:Menace
Release Date:21/11/1941
Week-End in Havana
Character:Boris
Release Date:17/10/1941
Married Bachelor
Character:Johnny Brannigan
Release Date:16/10/1941
Buy Me That Town
Character:Chink Moran
Release Date:03/10/1941
Private Nurse
Character:John Winton
Release Date:22/08/1941
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Character:Pretty Willie Williams
Release Date:24/01/1941
Another Thin Man
Character:Phil Church
Release Date:17/11/1939
Ouanga
Character:LeStrange, the Overseer
Release Date:03/12/1935
The Gem of the Ocean
Character:Pasha
Release Date:19/11/1934
My Mummy's Arms
Character:Abdullah
Release Date:28/06/1934
Television Appearances
Dream On
Character:Don Monteleoni
American Masters
Character:Self - Interviewee (archive footage)
Matlock
Character:Casino Tipster
Murder, She Wrote
Character:Sgt. Bulldog Kowalski
The Cosby Show
Character:Dr. Wexler
Cheers
Character:Sid Nelson
The Facts of Life
Character:
Big Eddie
Character:
Dinah!
Character:Self
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Character:Self
Sanford and Son
Character:
My World and Welcome to It
Character:
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Character:Self (uncredited)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Character:Self
I Spy
Character:Disc Jockey
Linus the Lionhearted
Character:Linus (voice)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Character:Norman Miles
Burke's Law
Character:Ronald 'Touchy' Touchstone
Burke's Law
Character:'Chicasaw Pete' Wickowski
The Lucy Show
Character:Sheldon Leonard
The Merv Griffin Show
Character:Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character:Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Character:Self
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Character:Big Max Calvada
The David Susskind Show
Character:Self
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Character:Self
Screen Director's Playhouse
Character:George
The Duke
Character:Sam Marco
The Danny Thomas Show
Character:Gus
General Electric Theater
Character:
Your Jeweler's Showcase
Character:Hardwick Harris
I Love Lucy
Character:Harry Martin (uncredited)
The Jack Benny Program
Character:Elevator Tout
The Jack Benny Program
Character:Racetrack Tout
The Jack Benny Program
Character:Tombstone Harry
The Jack Benny Program
Character:Bobby Darin's Agent (uncredited)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Character:Johnny Velvet
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Character:Silky Thompson
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Character:Self
The Bob Hope Show
Character:Self
Images
