
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.

Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life

素晴らしき哉、人生!

My Mummy's Arms

The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter

I Love Lucy

The Jack Benny Program

チアーズ

The Dick Van Dyke Show

If You Knew Susie

ジェシカおばさんの事件簿

脱出

Sanford and Son

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

ポケット一杯の幸福

American Masters

Matlock

Another Thin Man

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

ザ・ルーシー・ショー

The Facts of Life

Come Fill the Cup

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Linus the Lionhearted

The Bob Hope Show

Your Jeweler's Showcase

コスビー・ショー

Dream On

Week-End in Havana

Color Adjustment

The Colgate Comedy Hour

Lucky Jordan

Uncertain Glory

Somewhere in the Night

Dinah!

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

野郎どもと女たち

Open Secret

Alias a Gentleman

Screen Director's Playhouse

I Spy

My Dream Is Yours

Sock a Doodle Do

General Electric Theater

凸凹透明人間

Kiddin' the Kitten

Captain Kidd

The Merv Griffin Show

ブリンクス

The Falcon in Hollywood

Rise and Shine

Bowery Bombshell

Rainbow Over Texas

Breakdown

Behave Yourself!

Here Come the Nelsons

Madonna of the Desert

Buy Me That Town

Joe Palooka in Winner Take All

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life'

Shep Comes Home

Burke's Law

The Danny Thomas Show

Hit the Ice

Sinbad the Sailor

Her Kind of Man

Money from Home

デコイ

Married Bachelor

Gambler's Choice

The Iroquois Trail

Tall, Dark and Handsome

Tortilla Flat

Passport to Suez

Timber Queen

A Peck o' Trouble

My World and Welcome to It

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

The Mike Douglas Show

Street of Chance

Violence

Take One False Step

Klondike Kate

The Fabulous Joe

The Gangster

The Last Crooked Mile

Zombies on Broadway

Stop, You're Killing Me

Born to Sing

Why Girls Leave Home

City Without Men

Ouanga

The David Susskind Show

Jinx Money

Young Man with Ideas

Trocadero

Crime, Inc.

Frontier Gal

Daughter of the Jungle

Pierre of the Plains

Harvest Melody

Taxi, Mister

The Diamond Queen

Top Secret

Radio Stars on Parade

The Islander

Private Nurse

River Gang

The Gentleman Misbehaves