Biography
This page uses content from the Sheldon Leonard biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Sheldon Leonard (February 22 1907 – January 10, 1997) was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.
Career
As an actor, Leonard specialized in playing supporting characters, and many times gangsters, in films such as It's A Wonderful Life (1946), To Have and Have Not (1944), and Open Secret (1948). His trademark was his especially thick New York accent.
In radio, Leonard played an eccentric racetrack tout on the Jack Benny program in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His role was to salute Benny out of the blue in railroad stations or on street corners or in department stores ("hey Bud, come here 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. He also appeared frequently on "The Adventures of the Saint", often playing gangsters and heavies, but also sometimes in more positive roles.
But he is better known as the producer of hugely popular television series, including The Danny Thomas Show (1953–64), The Andy Griffith Show (1960–68), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66), and I Spy (1965–68).
One of his last roles was a guest appearance on the TV series Cheers, in which he played the proprietor of "The Hungry Heifer", Norm Peterson's favorite eating establishment.
Leonard died at 89 and was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Trivia
- Leonard was an Eagle Scout.
Selected filmography
Producer
- The Andy Griffith Show
- The Dick Van Dyke Show
- I Spy
- My World and Welcome to It
Director
- The Andy Griffith Show
- The Dick Van Dyke Show
- My Favorite Martian
- I Spy
Actor
- Another Thin Man
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Sinbad the Sailor
- Guys and Dolls
- Hit the Ice
Notes
- "Niagara Falls" routine from Bill Cosby's Wonderfulness album is a story about Sheldon Leonard. Bill Cosby starred in I Spy, one of the shows that Leonard produced.
External links
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
IGN RSS Feeds